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ALL  THE 


VOYAGES 

ROUND   THE   WOULD, 


FROM  THE  FIRST  BV 


MAGELLAN,    IN    1520, 


TO  THAT  or 


FREYCINET,    IN    1  820. 


NOW   FIRST    COLLECTED, 

BY  CAPT.  SAMUEL  PRIOK. 


NEW  YORK: 
WILLIAM  H.  COLYER,  No.  6  HAGUE-STREET, 
#  1844. 


Mj-^'^U'  ■ 


4 


CONTENTS 


Date.  Page. 

Ferdinand  Magellan 1519  27 

Sir  Tr  incis  Drake        1.577  36 

Sir  Ihomas  Cavendish 1586  44 

Oliver  Van  Noort. 1598  51 

Captain  William  Dampier 1683  67 

Mr.  Cowley 1083  93 

Captain  Woodes  Rogers 1708  98 

Captain  John  Clipperton 1719  132 

Captain  George  Shelvock 1719  140 

Admiral  Joris  Spilbergen 1614  149 

Jacob  Le  Maire  and  Wilhelm  Cornelisz  Schouten   .     .     .  1615  154 

Admiral  Jacob  L'Heremite 1623  161 

Admiral  Jacob  Roggevv'ein 1721  165 

Commodore  George  Anson 1740  168 

Commodore  Byron 1764  183 

Captain  Samuel  Wallia 1766  191 

Captain  Carteret 1766  200 

Mons.  De  Bougainville 1766  208 

M.  De  Pages 1767  219 

Captain  James  Cook 1768  228 

(Second  Voyage) 1772  248 

(Third  Voyage) 1776  267 

Captains  Portlock  and  Dixon 1785  290 

M.  De  la  Perouse 1785  298 

Captain  Edward  Edwards 1790  816 

Captain  George  Vancouver 1791  322 

Captain  Etienne  Marchand 1790  346 

Missionary  Voyage , 1796  353 

Captain  D'Entrecasteaux       1791  374 

Mr.  John  TurnbuU 1800  378 

Captain  Krusenstern 1803  396 

Captain  Freycinet       ....• 1818  414 


Maii780 


PREFACE 


An  arrangement  of  all  the  voyages  which  have  been  made  round  the 
world,  within  the  compass  of  a  moderate-sized  volume,  seems  to  be  one 
of  those  wants  which  modern  literature  has  been,  for  some  years,  called 
upon  to  supply  ;  offering,  as  it  does,  not  merely  much  solid  information, 
with  the  greatest  amusement,  but  because  it  is  adapted  to  every  age,  sex, 
and  condition  in  life.  It  is  one  of  those  never-failing  sources  of  plea- 
sure, which  may  claim  a  constant  place  on  the  parlour-table,  in  the  school- 
room, and  in  the  library  ;  which  can  never  be  taken  up  without  instruction, 
nor  put  down  without  regret ;  which  offers  the  results  of  much  skill  and 
adventure,  without  the  labours  or  dangers  necessary  to  gain  ihem  by 
experience. 

Such  a  work  elucidates  several  points  which  astronomy  has  taught ;  it 
exemplifies  to  the  student  in  geography  much  of  what  he  has  learned, 
stamping  the  conclusions  of  science  and  theory  with  the  evidences  of 
facts.  For  a  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  people  of  distant  countries, 
and  with  the  figure  and  peculiarities  of  the  earth,  which  voyages  round 
the  world  tend  so  eminently  to  teach,  are  among  the  first  offerings  of  the 
practical  navigator  to  the  science  which  first  taught  him  it  was  probable 
he  might  be  enabled  to  sail  round  the  globe  he  is  destined  to  inhabit. 

The  distinguishing  characteristic  of  the  human  mind  being  an  invincible 
spirit  of  inquiry,  which  disdains  to  rest  satisfied  with  the  simple  impres- 
sions communicated  by  the  external  senses,  it  was,  in  all  probability,  one 
of  the  first  desires  of  the  first  men  who  tenanted  the  earth,  to  gain,  not 
only  a  more  intimate,  but  comprehensive  acquaintance  with  its  peculiar 
qualities  and  figure. 

To  them  it  would  naturally  appear,  as  it  does  to  the  vulgar  even  of 
the  present  day,  a  vast  plain,  extending  they  know  not  where,  fixed  they 
know  not  how,  diversified  by  various  productions,  studded  with  hill  and 
dale,  rock  and  sand,  wood  and  water,  but  still  essentially  a  plain.  To 
conceive  anything  else,  was,  indeed,  unlikely  in  the  infancy  of  society. 
Art  had  not  time  to  do  much  for  it,  and  science  nothing.  Knowledge, 
we  know,  is  but  of  slow  growth,  laboriously  and  scantily  quarried  from 
obscurity  by  human  wit  for  human  uses ;  neither  had  men  yet  congre- 
gated in  those  vast  masses  which,  by  the  continual  collision  of  individuals, 
at  length  elicit  light  and  truth  of  every  description.  If  society  has  occa- 
sioned some  of  our  vices,  it  has  also  been  the  parent  of  most  of  our 
milder  virtues,  and  of  all  our  information.  Man,  had  he  been  alwaya 
solitary,  had  been  always  barbarous  and  ignorant. 

The  sea  was  an  object  so  truly  wonderful  in  itself,  its  qualities  and 
phenomena  were  so  peculiar,  its  extent  so  boundless,  and  the  difficulty 
of  traversing  or  examining  it  so  great  in  the  early  ages  of  mankind, 
that  we  may  well  conceive,  while  they  wondered  at  its  nature,  they  could 
form  no  idea  of  its  uses.  They  could  not  imagine  that  its  riches  vied 
with  those  of  the  land  ;  that  its  contents  ascended  in  the  form  of  vapour, 
and  again  descended  in  showers  to  fertilize  that  land  ;  that  it  occupied 
much  the  larger  portion  of  the  globe  they  inhabited  ;  and  that,  in  time, 
it  was  to  form  the  best  and  speediest  means  of  communication  betweea 

1* 


Vi  PREFACE. 

distant  couniries,  and  thus  to  become  the  parent  of  knowledge,  commerce, 
and  civihzation. 

Its  superfices,  according  to  the  best  calculations,  occupies  131,701,440 
miles,  or  about  two-thirds  of  that  of  the  whole  earth.  Philosophers 
have  long  speculated  about  its  probable  depth,  without  arriving  at  any 
certain  conclusion.  Some  suppose  that  its  bed  is  not  more  below  than 
the  hills  are  above  the  general  level  of  the  earth,  which,  if  true,  would 
make  it,  at  most,  in  particular  spots,  between  five  and  six  miles  deep. 
Buffon  considers  that  its  bed  is  equally  irregular  with  all  other  surfaces, 
which  we  have  better  opportunities  for  examining  ;  that  there  are  num- 
berless depths  and  shallows  ;  that  the  greatest  depths  exist  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  highest  lands,  and  vice  versa ;  and  that  the  medium  depth  of  the 
whole  ocean  does  not,  in  all  probability,  exceed  one-fourth  of  a  mile.  To 
this  there  seems  no  solid  objection.  The  inaccuracy  of  our  knowledge 
on  the  point  arises  from  the  incompetency  of  our  instruments  for  sound- 
ing, none  having  yet  been  invented  likely  to  answer  the  purpose  at  any 
considerable  distance  from  the  surface  of  the  sea,  though  one  instance  is 
recorded  where  it  was  sounded  so  far  as  a  mile  and  sixty-six  feet. 

The  existence,  however,  of  so  many  islands  scattered  in  all  the  oceans, 
affords  proof  that  the  sea,  far  from  increasing  in  depth  as  we  recede  from 
the  shore,  on  the  contrary,  frequently  shallows  ;  and  that  while  some  of 
these  irregularities  appear  as  islands  above  the  surface  of  the  water, 
there  are  others  not  so  high,  known  to  the  navigator  as  shoals  against 
which  he  has  to  guard.  Added  to  these,  there  are  many  thousands  more 
of  still  less  elevation,  which  neither  the  eye  nor  the  lead-and-line  can 
reach,  every  practical  sailor  knowing  that  he  cannot  always  depend 
upon  the  latter  at  a  greater  depth  than  100,  or,  perhaps,  150  fathoms,  but 
most  commonly  not  so  much.  Nor  is  there,  in  general,  much  attejition 
paid  to  this  subject  except  when  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  land. 

As  the  mountains  of  the  earth  form  its  prominences,  so  the  beds  of 
the  different  oceans  constitute  its  concavities,  of  which  the  largest  is 
that  of  the  Great  Pacific,  or  South  Sea,  extending  from  the  eastern  shore 
of  New  Holland  to  the  western  coast  of  America,  and  occupying  nearly 
one-half  of  our  globe.  The  second  in  size  is  the  Atlantic,  connecting 
Europe  with  America  ;  the  Indian  Ocean  forms  the  third  :  to  these  may 
be  added  the  Arctic  and  Antarctic,  the  Mediterranean,  Baltic,  and  other 
seas,  forming  together  an  amazing  body  of  water.  The  circumference 
of  the  earth,  according  to  geographers,  does  not  exceed  24,912  miles. 
To  sail  over  this  seems  an  arduous  undertaking ;  but,  in  fact,  to  encom- 
pass it,  as  ships  usually  do,  on  account  of  contrary  winds,  currents,  and 
occasional  variations  from  the  direct  track,  it  is  necessary  for  circumnavi- 
gators to  traverse  more  than  treble  this  space. 

The  knowledge  of  the  figure  of  the  earth,  by  which  it  was  first  sup 
posed  capable  of  being  sailed  round,  has  been  gained  solely  from  the 
progressive  improvements  of  astronomy.  This  science  is  supposed  to 
have  made  some  progress  among  the  antediluvians,  whose  lives,  according 
to  Josephus,  the  Jewish  historian,  were  purposely  prolonged  by  Providence 
for  its  advancement.  Noah  communicated  all  that  was  known  on  the 
subject  to  the  Chaldeans,  by  means  of  his  immediate  descendants.  The 
Egyptians  succeeded  to  all  the  scientific  acquirements  of  these  people ; 
and,  according  to  some  writers,  first  conjectured  the  earth  to  be  spherical, 
some  time  previous  to  the  era  of  Solomon,  the  Jewish  ruler,  by  obser- 
ving the  moon  to  fall  into  her  shadow.  This  shrewdness  of  remark  indi- 
cated considerable  advancement  in  the  science.  It  is  remarkable,  however^ 
that  by  one  of  those  strange  revolutions  in  empires,  which  history  faiU 


PREFACE.  VU 

to  record,  and  for  which  even  tradition  offers  no  explanation,  this  people 
sunk  from  the  summit  of  power  and  civilization  to  imbecility  and  bar- 
barism ;  so  that,  in  the  time  of  Augustus  of  Rome,  astronomy,  along 
with  every  other  science,  had  become  nearly  extinct  in  that  country. 

From  Egypt,  Thales  carried  its  general  principles  among  the  Greeks. 
Anaximander,  however,  seems  early  to  have  taught  that  the  earth  was 
spherical ;  but  Pythagoras,  especially,  was  the  first  who  formed  clear 
views  of  the  position  and  economy  of  all  the  heavenly  bodies.  About 
440  years  before  Christ,  Philolaus,  a  celebrated  follower  of  Pythagoras, 
endeavoured  to  prove  that  the  earth  revolved  round  the  sun  ;  and,  after 
him,  Hicetas,  of  Syracuse,  asserted  its  diurnal  motion  on  its  own  axis. 
The  Romans  seem  to  have  done  little  in  this  science.  The  darkness  of 
mind  which  peivaded  all  Europe  after  their  fall,  affected  astronomy  as 
well  as  every  other  species  of  knowledge  ;  disregarded  in  Europe,  they 
took  flight  for  a  season  into  Arabia,  where,  amid  the  feats  of  arms  and 
the  enchantments  of  poetry  and  romance,  they  were  zealously  fostered 
by  the  caliphs,  who  were  themselves  not  unfrequently  among  the  most 
enlightened  philosophers  of  their  dominions.  Astronomy,  more  particu- 
larly, was  in  this  way  frequently  honoured. 

The  revival  of  letters  produced  a  corresponding  enlargement  of  science. 
Several  eminent  astronomers  adorned  Germany  and  Italy.  But  it  was 
reserved  for  Christopher  Columbus,  who  united  much  skill  in  this  science 
to  a  true  idea  of  the  figure  of  the  earth,  and  great  experience  as  a  prac- 
tical seaman,  to  propose  to  sail  round,  or  rather  across,  it ;  for,  up  to  this 
time,  but  one  great  ocean  and  one  continent  were  supposed  to  constitute 
our  globe.  To  this  great  man,  therefore,  the  first  idea  of  circumnaviga- 
tion, though  not  the  full  execution  of  the  design,  is  justly  due.  He  had 
upheld  it  with  a  constancy  as  surprising  as  it  was  for  a  long  time  hope- 
less, amid  derision,  neglect,  and  suspicion  ;  exposed,  like  aU  other  bene- 
factors of  mankind,  to  alternate  insult  and  praise,  to  envy  and  injury,  as 
if  a  fatality  attended  those  destined  to  enlighten  or  exalt  their  species  ;  or 
Providence  had  ordained  it  as  a  drawback,  in  order  to  lessen  a  vanity 
that  might  otherwise  prove  inordinate. 

In  1513,  Vasco  Nunez  de  Bilboa  discovering,  for  the  first  time,  the 
South  Sea  from  the  mountains  of  Panama,  Ferdmand  Magellan,  a  Portu- 
guese officer,  formed  the  scheme  of  entering  it,  and  thus  going  round  the 
world  ;  for  with  the  daily  progress  of  discovery  he  had  acquired  clearer 
views  of  its  practicability.  He  opened  his  plans  to  the  government,  but 
in  vain  ;  ministers  in  all  countries  being  prone  to  suspect  the  motives  of 
projects  they  do  not  properly  appreciate  or  understand.  Spain  again,  as 
in  the  instance  of  Columbus,  was  applied  to,  and  with  similar  good 
effect.  Charles  the  Fifth  then  wielded  her  sceptre,  a  prince  whose 
talents,  nearly  as  great  as  his  ambition,  aiming  at  adding  the  whole  of  the 
east  to  the  finest  part  of  Europe  already  in  his  possession,  saw  at  once 
the  national  glory,  if  not  wealth,  which  would  redound  from  the  enter- 
prise. He  admitted  the  courageous  projector  to  a  formal  interview,  gave 
him,  though  a  foreigner,  the  chief  command  in  opposition  to  much  native 
influence  and  prejudice,  and  by  a  liberality  more  frequently  worthy  of 
imitation,  added  the  honour  of  knighthood  for  making  an  attempt  which 
others  would  probably  have  awarded  only  to  its  successful  accomplishment. 
The  generosity  of  the  emperor  stimulated  the  zeal  of  the  navigator,  for 
no  undertaking  was  ever  more  vigorously  pursued  or  ably  completed, 
though,  unfortunately,  the  adventurous  leader  did  not  Uve  to  reap  th« 
reward  of  his  courage. 


vSi  PREFACE. 

The  success  of  the  enterprise  fully  settled  the  point  of  the  rotundity 
of  the  globe.  To  this  conclusion  nearly  all  the  philosophers  of  the  age 
had  already  arrived.  But  politicians  were  not  so  easily  convinced  :  and 
one  of  the  strongest  objections  to  the  attempt  of  Columbus,  among  the 
courtiers  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  was,  that  he  would  probably  go  so 
far  as  to  be  unable  to  return  against  the  resistance  offered  by  that  very 
convexity  which  was  to  assist  him  in  proceeding.  They  did  not  consider 
that  the  earth  is  so  vast  a  mass  as  to  answer  every  practical  purpose  of  a 
plain  ;  and  that  it  would  be  no  more  difficult  to  return  from  any  particular 
point,  than  to  go  thither. 

The  spirit  which  actuated  the  early  circumnavigators  will  be  more 
admired  when  we  consider  the  great  imperfections  of  navigation  at  that 
time.  Of  correct  longitude  scarcely  anything  was  known.  No  depen- 
dance  could  be  placed  on  the  common  reckoning  in  strange  seas,  where 
unknown  and  irregular  currents  drove  them  to  arid  fro  they  knew  not 
whither  ;  while  lunar  observations  and  chronometers,  the  only  true  guides 
of  the  mariner  in  our  days,  were  utterly  unknown.  A  meridian  altitude 
of  the  sun,  indeed,  indicated  their  position  north  or  south,  but  everything 
else  was  confided  to  Providence. 

Their  vessels  also  were  extremely  small,  clumsily  built,  poorly  provision- 
ed, ill-fitted,  on  account  of  the  backward  state  of  seamanship,  and  ill-pro- 
vided with  stores  to  replace  those  destroyed  in  action  or  worn  out  by  use. 
The  loss  of  a  mast,  a  topsail,  or  an  anchor,  were  to  them  dangerous 
accidents  ;  while  the  unshipping  of  a  rudder  would  probably  have  been 
followed  by  immediate  destruction.  In  short,  we  should  scarcely  trust 
ourselves  from  Dover  to  Calais  in  vessels  in  which  they  successfully  cir- 
cumnavigated the  globe.  Few,  at  least,  of  ^  our  boldest  adventurers 
would  undertake  such  an  expediton  in  vessels  of  thirty,  fifty,  or  eighty 
tons,  thus  fitted,  provided,  and  navigated,  as  did  the  companions  of  Drake 
and  others  of  our  ancient  heroes.  The  only  modern  instance  anything 
like  this,  is  that  of  the  late  Captain  Flinders,  of  the  royal  navy.  Being 
wrecked  on  a  sand-bank  off  the  eastern  shore  of  New  Holland,  he  builfe 
a  small  vessel,  less  than  our  Gravesend  boats,  out  of  the  wreck,  in  which 
he  proceeded  to  Port  Jackson,  intending  to  continue  his  route  in  her  to 
England.  Touching,  however,  at  the  Isle  of  France  in  his  way,  the  de- 
sign appeared  to  the  French  so  desperate  and  improbable  that  his  story 
was  not  believed  ;  war  had  also  taken  place  between  the  two  countries, 
and  though  provided  with  the  passport  of  Napoleon  to  guard  against 
capture,  was  most  cruelly  and  unjustly  detained  seven  years  in  captivity 
as  a  spy.  He  did  not,  therefore,  ccwnplete  his  voyage,  which  would  have 
been  half  round  the  world,  in  the  smallest  vessel  in  which  it  has  been 
attempted  since  the  days  of  Drake  ;  it  was  called  the  Cumberland,  and 
is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  harbour  of  Port  Louis,  in  Mauritius, 

Among  the  most  trying  difficulties  with  which  the  early  voyagers  had 
to  contend,  were  the  fears,  superstitions,  and  insubordination  of  their 
sea-nen.  The  latter,  above  all  others,  is  the  most  arduous  and  appalling 
to  a  commander.  Enemies  may  be  repulsed,  the  elements  cannot  bo 
always  adverse  ;  but  against  the  mutinous  spirit  of  our  companions,  those 
who  are  constantly  by  our  side,  by  whose  exertions  alone  we  can  proceed, 
and  who  have  necessarily  all  the  power  in  their  own  hands,  what,  in 
general,  can  the  voice  of  a  captain  or  an  officer  or  two  effect  1  Even 
this  serious  obstacle  was  commonly  overcome,  sometimes  by  great  pru- 
dence and  management,  and  frequently,  it  must  be  confessed,  by  the 
sacrifice  of  human  life.     Magellan  executed  some  of  his  companions, 


PREFACE.  IX 

put  a  few  to  death  by  lees  honourable  means,  and  left  others  to  drag  out 
a  miserable  existence  among  the  most  wretched  savages.  Drake  follow- 
ed the  example. 

Seamen,  no  doubt,  often  require  strict  discipline  and  superintendence. 
Want  of  education,  and  ignorance  of  settled  habits  of  life,  added  to 
their  ever-wandering  mode  of  existence,  occasionally  inspire  a  restless- 
ness of  character  against  which  it  is  necessary  to  guard,  as  it  has  some- 
times led  to  great  excesses,  and  even  to  the  most  serious  crimes.  Fatigued 
by  the  monotony  of  their  life,  they  desire  a  change  ;  and  impatient  of 
continual  restraint,  frequently  seek  among  savages  that  freedom,  happiness, 
and  exemption  from  labour  which  they  beheve  to  exist  only  in  such  a 
community.  It  is  thus  that  some  of  the  South  Sea  islands  contain  hun- 
dreds of  English  sailors.  It  is  also  true,  that,  with  fewer  personal  com- 
forts than  any  other  class  of  men,  their  treatment  by  commanders  is  often 
unduly  severe.  Some  degree  of  tyranny  has  always  prevailed  at  sea  in 
vessels  of  all  nations  ;  nor  was  our  own  royal  navy,  till  within  these  fevv 
years,  exempted  from  the  charge  ;  but,  in  truth,  the  skipper  of  a  collier  is 
quite  as  great  a  despot  in  his  way  as  those  of  higher  rank  and  pretension. 

Another  source  of  apprehension  and  difficulty  to  the  early  voyagers 
was  the  disposition  with  which  they  might  be  received  by  the  strange 
nations  inhabiting  the  countries  of  which  they  were  in  search,  as  want 
of  refreshments  must  continually  bring  them  into  contact.  The  know- 
ledge of  human  nature  was  then  so  limited  as  to  give  rise  to  the  most 
extravagant  conjectures  concerning  the  inhabitants  of  this  as  well  as  of 
the  other  world.  The  majority  of  people  believed  in  witches  and  conju- 
rers, in  cunning  dwarfs  and  monstrous  giants,  which  the  adventurers  no 
doubt  expected  to  see,  as  well  as  many  other  wonders  in  the  new 
countries.  It  is  remarkable  that  this  idea  was,  in  some  measure,  verified. 
For  the  first  strange  people  they  met  with,  the  Patagonians,  proved  of 
extraordinary  stature,  though  not,  in  fact,  such  giants  as  at  first  repre- 
sented. Added  to  these  were  the  usual  dangers,  common  to  all  seamen, 
of  storms,  shipwreck,  famine,  thirst,  and  the  most  horrible  of  all,  from 
which  there  is  no  hope  and  no  retreat,  namely,  the  calamity  of  fire. 
When  the  variety  and  importance  of  all  these  difficulties  are  considered, 
our  admiration  of  those  bravo  men  becomes  as  great  as  their  views  were 
grand,  and  their  courage  invincible. 

An  interval  of  fifty-seven  years  elapsed  from  the  expedition  of  Magel- 
lan, when  Drake,  who  had  served  in  the  West  Indies  against  the  Spa- 
niards, struck  out  the  novel  scheme  of  cruising  against  them  on  the  coasts 
of  Chili  and  Peru,  to  which  countries  no  English  vessel  had  yet  pene- 
trated, though  a  few  adventurers  had  reached  Panama,  across  the  Isthmus 
of  Darien.  Besides,  the  prospect  of  gaining  wealth  from  the  enemies 
of  his  country,  in  itself  an  irresistible  temptation,  there  was  the  farther 
honour,  by  returning  round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  of  being  the  second 
circumnavigator.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  this  bold  undertaking  suc- 
ceeded. Cavendish  and  others  followed  with  equal  success  ;  but  Drake 
may  justly  be  termed  the  father  of  the  bucaniers  of  the  South  Sea. 
Of  this  celebrated  association,  which  originated  in  the  West  Indies,  and 
occasionally  extended  its  operations  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  to  the  continual 
anxiety  and  terror  of  the  Spaniards,  it  will  be  necessary  to  give  some 
account,  as  without  it  the  following  pages  would  be  incomplete. 

The  name  bucanier,  which  originally  signified  one  who  dried  or  smoked 
flesh  in  the  manner  of  the  Indians,  was  given  to  the  first  French 
settlers  of  St.  Domingo,  who  hunted  wild  boars  and  cattle  in  order  to 
sell  the  hides  and  flesh  to  their  more  settled  neighbours.     They  lived  i" 


X  PREFACE. 

huts  built  on  patches  of  cleared  ground,  just  sufficiently  large  to  admit  of 
drying  the  skins.  These  spots  were  named  Boucans,  and  the  huts, 
which  were  commonly  only  temporary,  Ajoupas,  terms  borrowed  from 
the  native  Indians.  With  the  more  regular  Spanish  settlers  of  the  same 
island  they  were  continually  at  war,  and,  therefore,  concealment  was  in 
some  degree  necessary,  the  motives  of  the  Spaniards  for  this  persecution 
being  jealousy  of  the  presence  of  all  other  Europeans. 

The  tenants  of  the  Boucans,  having  neither  women  nor  children,  con- 
gregated in  parties,  each  keeping  a  servant,  who,  being  some  recent 
adventurer  from  Europe,  was  obliged  to  bind  himself  for  three  years  to 
an  older  bucanier  in  order  to  gain  a  footing  in  the  community  ;  more  a 
companion,  however,  than  a  servant,  the  fruits  of  their  labours  were  en- 
joyed in  common  ;  and  in  cases  of  death,  the  domestic  regularly  suc- 
ceeded to  the  property  of  his  master.  In  process  of  time,  some,  tired 
of  this  occupation,  settled  as  planters  in  the  little  island  of  Tortuga, 
situated  at  a  short  distance  from  the  north  side  of  St.  Domingo,  to  which 
they  were  by  degrees  driven  by  the  repeated  massacres  of  the  Spaniards. 
Others  commenced  freebooters  by  sea,  amply  revenging  npon  thnt  nation 
the  injuries  sustained  by  their  companions  on  land.  Success  continually 
added  to  their  confidence  and  to  their  numbers.  They  seldom,  at  first, 
acted  together  ;  but  in  parties  of  from  fifty  to  two  hundred  men  each, 
embarked  in  small  boats,  ill-adapted  either  to  war  or  security  from  the 
elements,  and  would  attack  the  largest  vessels,  overpowering  them  by  a 
desperate  bravery  which  nothing  could  withstand.  Thus  they  fought  their 
way  to  riches  and  power.  Every  additional  prize  afforded  increased  means 
of  capturing  others  ;  till  at  length  the  Spaniards,  afraid  of  proceeding 
to  sea,  had  their  intercourse  with  the  mother  country  nearly  annihilated. 

Although  their  vengeance  was  directed  against  this,  their  wealthiest 
and  bitterest  enemy,  other  nations  were  not  exempted  from  their  depreda- 
tions. When  distressed  for  men,  money,  or  ships,  almost  every  stranger 
became  an  enemy.  Thus  far  they  were  pirates.  The  booty  was  regularly 
divided  into  as  many  shares  as  there  were  men.  None  had  a  preference. 
The  leader  of  an  enterprise,  commonly  elected  only  for  the  occasion, 
among  the  most  distinguished  for  skill  and  courage,  enjoyed  more  honours, 
but  had  no  claim  to  greater  emoluments  than  his  associates,  except  what 
the  general  voice  chose  to  award  when  an  enterprise  proved  profitable, 
and  had  been  ably  conducted. 

No  fixed  laws  guided  their  proceedings.  These  were  made  upon  the 
spur  of  the  occasion.  But  offences  against  the  general  good,  such  as 
f)eculation  or  treachery,  were  severely  and  summarily  punished,  either  by 
death  or  by  leaving  the  culprit  upon  a  desert  island.  Such  was  the 
certainty  of  punishment,  or  the  sense  of  justice  to  each  other,  that  few 
instances  of  this  kind  occurred.  Their  behaviour  verified  the  adage  of 
"  Honesty  among  thieves  ;"  for  though  robbers  by  profession,  none  were 
ever  more  equitable  among  themselves.  Every  share  was  chosen  by  lot. 
The  wounded  were  provided  for  by  a  certain  sum,  and  an  allowance 
during  cure.  The  companion  or  servant  of  a  member  killed,  received 
his  share.  If  he  had  none,  it  was  transmitted  to  his  relations  ;  or  if 
these  were  unknown,  given  to  the  poor  or  to  churches,  to  apologize  for 
misdeeds  neither  repented  of  nor  discontinued.  They  seldom  went  to 
gca  except  when  in  want  of  money,  and,  when  gained,  it  was  as  quickly 
s;ient.  Jamaica  commonly  formed  the  resort  of  the  English,  and  St. 
Domingo  of  the  French,  where  the  fruits  of  their  cruises  being  soon 
dissipated  in  rioting  and  debauchery,  necessity  drove  them  to  the  same 
desperate  undertakings  for  farther  supplies. 


PREFACE.  Xl 

These  associations  continued  with  but  few  intermissions  for  nearly  150 
years,  peace  or  war  in  Europe  being  of  no  import  in  the  eyes  of  their 
leaders.  The  principal  of  these  were  Morgan,  Samms,  Wilner,  Towley, 
and  others,  among  the  EngHsh ;  Montbar,  L'Olonois,  Grognier,  Picard, 
Le  Sage,  and  Grammont,  among  the  French  ;  Van  Horn,  a  Dutchman, 
and  De  Basco,  a  Portuguese. 

Morgan,  the  most  renowned  of  the  English  freebooters,  after  a  variety 
of  minor  exploits,  conceived  the  bold  project  of  subduing  Porto  Bello, 
which  he  accomplished  with  great  skill  and  no  loss,  gaining  a  large  booty 
from  its  plunder  and  ransom.  Panama,  however,  a  large  town  situated 
across  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  on  the  shore  of  the  South  Seas,  promised 
still  more  wealth.  Having  reduced  the  Island  of  St.  Catharine's  by  a 
secret  understanding  with  the  Spanish  governor,  who  wished  to  have  the 
honour,  though  not  the  danger,  of  resisting  the  adventurers,  he  proceed- 
ed to  the  mouth  of  the  River  Chagres,  leading  part  of  the  way  to  his 
ultimate  destination.  Here  was  a  fort  situated  upon  a  rock  ;  against  which 
beat  the  waves  of  the  sea  ;  and  defended  by  an  officer  and  a  garrison 
worthy  of  the  trust  committed  to  their  courage.  The  bucaniers  attacked 
it  with  desperation,  and  were  as  vigorously  resisted,  but  this  resistance 
only  stimulated  the  energy  of  the  men  accustomed,  not  merely  to  expect, 
but  almost  to  command,  success.  For  some  time  the  contest  continued 
doubtful,  till  a  lucky  shot  killed  the  commander  of  the  fort,  while  at  the 
same  time  it  took  fire,  when  the  besieged,  losing  courage,  surrendered. 

Morgan,  leaving  his  vessels  at  anchor  under  a  guard,  proceeded  in 
canoes  up  the  river  thirty-five  miles,  where,  being  no  longer  navigable, 
t\e  disembarked,  and  marched  toward  Panama,  about  thirty  miles  distant. 
On  a  plain,  without  the  town,  a  considerable  army  appeared  drawn  up  to 
oppose  his  progress.  This  was  no  sooner  attacked  than  dispersed.  In 
the  city,  in  boats,  and  in  the  neighbouring  forests,  were  found  vast  trea- 
sures concealed  in  caves  and  cellars,  the  inhabitants  having  had  lime  to 
retire  themselves,  but  not  to  carry  off  their  wealth  ;  added  to  these  were 
immense  quantities  of  valuable  articles  of  commerce,  which,  being  unable 
to  remove,  were,  as  well  as  the  town,  according  to  the  barbarous  practice 
of  that  age,  set  on  fire  by  the  adventurers,  who  regained  their  ships  with 
a  prodigious  booty. 

Among  the  French,  who  distinguished  themselves  as  much  for  cruelty 
as  bravery,  was  Montbar,  a  native  of  Languedoc.  He  had  in  early  life 
conceived  a  strong  prejudice  against  the  Spaniards,  on  account  of  their 
cruelties  to  the  Indians ;  this  spirit  increasing  with  his  years,  he  embark- 
ed from  Europe  to  join  the  bucaniers.  In  the  passage  out,  a  Spanish 
vessel  being  met  with,  was  attacked,  boarded,  and  taken,  Montbar  lead- 
ing the  way  to  the  decks  of  the  enemy,  along  which  he  carried  wounds 
and  death,  nothing  being  able  to  resist  his  desperate  fury  ;  and  when 
submission  terminated  the  engagement,  his  only  pleasure  seemed  to  be 
to  contemplate,  not  the  treasures  of  the  vessel,  but  the  number  of  dead 
and  dying  Spaniards,  against  whom  he  had  vowed  a  deadly  and  eternal 
hatred.  This  inveterate  enmity  never  subsided.  His  opponents  suffer- 
ed so  much  and  so  frequently  from  it,  during  the  whole  of  his  life,  that 
he  acquired  from  them  the  name  of  the  Exterminator. 

Another  of  the  same  nation,  named  L'Olonois,  from  the  situation  of 
bondsman,  had  raised  himself  to  the  command  of  two  boats  and  twenty- 
two  men,  with  which  he  was  bold  enough  to  attack,  and  fortunately  enough 
to  capture,  a  small  Spanish  frigate  on  the  coast  of  Cuba.  With  this 
vessel  he  succeeded  in  taking  four  ships  fitted  out  at  Port-au-Prince  to 
itestroy  him ;  but  cruelly  threw  their  crews  over-board,  excepting  on« 


Xll  PREPACB. 

man,  sent  back  to  the  governor  of  the  Havannah,  with  a  message  that 
all  Spaniards  who  might  fall  into  his  hands,  not  excepting  even  his  excel- 
lency himself,  should  experience  a  similar  fate.  At  Tortuga  he  met  with 
Michael  de  Basco,  already  celebrated  for  having  taken  a  ship  under  the 
guns  of  Porto  Bello,  valued  at  i)220,000,  and  a  variety  of  other  enterprises 
equally  daring  and  profitable.  Between  them  a  new  expedition  was  plan- 
ned, supported  by  450  men  ;  in  the  bay  of  Venezuela  they  reduced  a 
fort,  sinking  the  guns,  and  cruelly  putting  the  garrison  of  250  men  to 
death.  Re-embarking,  tbey  reached  Maracaibo,  built  on  the  western 
shore  of  the  lake  of  that  name,  a  city  which  had  acquired  wealth  by  its 
trade  in  skins,  cocoa,  and  tobacco.  The  inhabitants,  at  the  first  alarm, 
fled  with  their  principal  effects  ;  enough,  however,  remained  to  keep  the 
bucaniers  in  drunkenness  and  debauchery  for  some  lime  ;  in  the  mean- 
while works  were  thrown  up  to  impede  their  progress,  which  they  reduced 
at  the  expense  of  blood  and  labour,  but  without  any  profit.  Maracaibo 
itself  was  ransomed  ;  Gibraltar,  situated  near  the  extremity  of  the  lake, 
was  burned,  owing  to  the  exasperation  of  the  adventurers  at  missing  the 
expected  plunder ;  and  at  length  they  retired  laden  with  crosses,  pic- 
tures, and  bells,  more  than  with  wealth. 

Van  Horn,  in  1603,  formed  the  design  of  an  expedition,  which  promised 
a  rich  harvest  to  his  followers.  He  himself  was  at  once  their  admiration 
and  terror,  being  not  only  remarkable  for  intrepidity  but  for  punishing  the 
smallest  want  of  it  in  others,  often  going  round  the  decks  during  the 
heat  of  an  engagement,  and  instantly  shooting  those  who,  in  the  small- 
est degree,  flinched  from  their  guns.  In  other  respects  he  was  equitable 
and  generous,  sharing  equally  with  his  crew  the  produce  of  their  courage, 
though  sailing  in  a  ship  wholly  his  private  property. 

To  aid  in  the  present  scheme,  he  took  Gramont,  Godfrey,  Jonqu6,  and 
De  Graff,  all  commanders  of  approved  skill  and  courage,  with  1200  men, 
the  largest  force  which  had  yet  been  mustered,  ami  in  six  vessels  sailed 
for  Vera  Cruz.  Night,  and  ignorance  of  the  armament,  favouring  their 
design,  the  bucaniers  landed  eight  miles  from  the  town,  entered  it  un- 
discovered, and,  before  day-break,  secured  the  governor,  forts,  barracks, 
and  all  the  soldiers  capable  of  making  opposition.  The  inhabitants  sought 
refuge  in  the  churches,  at  the  doors  of  which  were  placed  barrets  of  gun- 
powder, guarded  by  the  invaders  with  lighted  matches,  m  order  to  destroy 
the  whole  in  case  of  insurrection  or  tumult.  The  work  of  pillage,  in  the 
meantime,  proceeded  without  interruption,  nothing  being  left  which  it 
was  possible  or  desirable  to  carry  away.  A  proposal  was  likewise  made 
to  the  imprisoned  people,  who  had  not  tasted  food  for  three  days,  to  ran- 
som their  lives  and  freedom  for  a  sum  of  .£440,000.  This,  whether  able 
or  not,  they  were  compelled  to  accede  to,  half  the  money  being  paid 
immediately,  and  the  other  half  promised  in  a  few  days.  Suddenly,  how- 
ever, a  large  armed  force  appeared  before  the  town,  and  a  fleet  of  seven- 
teen ships  from  Europe  before  the  port,  which,  though  sufficient  to  inti- 
midate a  regular  army,  if  not  to  desert  their  plunder,  had  no  other  effect 
on  the  bucaniers  than  to  induce  them  to  retreat  quietly  with  1500  slaves, 
as  an  indemnifi(iation  for  the  remaining  half  of  the  expected  ransom,  and 
o  push  deliberately  through  the  Spanish  fleet,  which,  instead  of  inter- 
cepting, was  itself  happy  to  escape  from  such  terrible  assailants. 

For  a  long  series  of  years  these  depredations  continued.  Scarcely  a 
town  escaped,  except  such  as  were  situated  very  far  in  the  interior  ; 
forts  and  soldiers  were  of  little  use  on  the  coast,  for  the  former  were  soon 
reduced,  and  the  latter,  whenever  they  attempted  a  fair  contest  in  the 
field,  always  conquered.     Toward  tlie  decline  of  tbis  predatory  warfare, 


pREPACfi.  xiii 

Gramont  embarked  with  a  considerable  force  for  Campeachy,  and  landing 
without  opposition,  found  800  Spaniards  drawn  up  to  dispute  the  approach 
to  the  town,  who  were  attacked,  beaten,  and  pursued  into  it,  with  the 
invaders  close  behind,  till  stopped  by  the  citadel.  Against  this  all  the 
cannon  they  could  find  was  directed  in  vain.  Fear,  however,  effected 
what  force  could  not.  The  garrison,  dreading  the  name  of  the  buca- 
niers,  evacuated  the  place  dunng  the  night,  leaving  only  an  Englishman 
in  it,  (a  gunner,)  who,  with  the  spirit  of  a  soldier,  disdained  to  desert  that 
which  he  had  sworn  to  defend,  and  which,  it  appeared,  was  capable  of 
being  obstinately  defended  ;  and  so  highly  did  this  principle  of  honour 
and  courage  operate  upon  the  assailants,  who  were  held  together  solely 
by  the  same  feelings,  that  they  received  him  with  distinction,  and  reward- 
ed him,  not  only  with  praises  and  liberty,  but  likewise  with  wealth. 

For  two  months  the  conquerors  kept  possession  of  the  city,  searching 
not  only  every  nook  and  corner  in  it  for  plunder,  but  the  country  for  thirty 
or  forty  miles  round,  discovering  what  had  been  hidden  in  the  earth  or 
in  the  woods,  to  the  great  loss  of  the  inhabitants,  who  vainly  believed  they 
had,  by  this  means,  secured  part  of  their  property.  The  plunder,  as  soon 
as  collected,  was  deposited  on  ship-board.  The  governor  of  the  province 
kept  the  field  with  nearly  1000  men,  but  dared  not  interrupt  men  who 
Beemed  as  desperate,  wherever  booty  was  to  be  procured,  as  they  were 
insensible  to  danger  and  regardless  of  death.  His  refusal  to  ransom  the 
city  caused  its  immediate  destruction  by  fire.  The  citadel,  likewise,  was 
levelled  to  the  ground.  A  more  extraordinary  sacrifice  on  the  part  of 
the  freebooters  was  a  bonfire  made  of  logwood,  valued  at  £1,000,000 
sterling,  and  forming  part  of  the  plunder,  which,  in  celebrating  the  festival 
of  St.  Louis,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  French  king,  whose  subjects  they 
principally  were,  was  given  to  the  flames  in  the  intoxication  of  folly  rather 
than  of  loyalty. 

The  last  memorable  attempt  of  the  bucaniers,  on  a  large  scale,  in 
this  part  of  the  world,  took  place  in  1697,  when  1200  men  joined  a  squa- 
dron of  seven  ships  from  Europe,  in  order  to  attack  the  city  of  Cartha- 
gena.  Their  commander  was  named  Pointis,  a  man  of  little  honour  or 
generosity,  but  intent  on  aggrandizing  himself.  The  enterprise  was  ar- 
duous ;  the  place  the  strongest  in  the  new  world  ;  the  port  difficult  of 
approach  to  enemies  ;  and,  if  not  immediately  reduced,  the  chmate  so  bad 
that  were  the  Spaniards  even  to  do  nothing  more  than  to  contrive  delays, 
it  would  soon  destroy  the  invaders.  This,  however,  the  latter  knew.. 
They  therefore  proceeded  vigorously  to  work,  seconded  by  that  zeal 
accustomed  to  contend  with,  and  to  conquer  next  to  impossibilities ;  of 
guns  they  had  no  want,  and  their  men  were  prodigal  of  their  blood  ;  each 
fought  as  if  his  individual  honour  and  interest  were  at  stake,  which,  in- 
deed, formed  the  life  of  these  associations  ;  and  their  good  fortune,  as 
usual,  prevailing,  the  city  yielded  to  their  arms  with  a  booty  calculated 
at  £1,750,000. 

Of  a  great  part  of  this  they  were  deprived  by  the  knavish  rapacity  of 
their  commander.  Exasperated  at  his  tricks,  a  party  proceeded  toward 
his  ship,  determined  to  inflict  summary  punishment  on  the  offender,  but 
recollecting  this  could  be  of  no  immediate  service,  cried  out,  "  Brethren, 
why  should  we  pollute  ourselves  with  the  blood  of  this  knave  1  He  is 
unworthy  the  indignation  of  honourable  men  !  Let  him  live  to  be  despised 
and  hooted,  rather  than  die  lamented  by  any  one  who  may  hear  of  his 
fate,  without  knowing  his  crimes.  Our  share  of  the  booty  is  still  at 
Cariliagena,  and  there  alone  must  we  look  for  it." 


XIV  PREFACE. 

Retttrning  to  the  city,  vhich  was  re-entered  without  opposition,  the 
inhabitants  were  shut  up  in  the  churches  till  the  sum  of  £220,000  should 
be  paid,  the  amount  of  the  sum  of  which  they  believed  themselves  de- 
frauded. Possessed  of  this,  they  promised  to  retire  without  molestation  to 
property  or  person  ;  without  it  they  threatened  the  most  frightful  destruc- 
tion to  both.  Unable,  or  unwilling,  to  satisfy  men  whose  wants  were  as 
boundless  as  their  conduct  was  daring  and  unprincipled,  the  poor  people 
knew  not  v/hat  to  do.  A  venerable  priest,  at  length,  mounted  the  pulpit, 
to  aid,  by  the  force  of  religious  eloi]uence,  the  exactions  of  that  rapacity 
which  it  was  probably  useless  to  refuse,  and  impossible  to  prevent,  and 
which,  if  ungiatified,  would  terminate  in  more  terrible  and  destructive 
consequences.  This  appeal  not  producing  the  sum  expected,  the  city 
was  ordered  to  be  plundered.  Sated,  at  length,  with  rioting  and  plun- 
der ;  with  money,  merchandize,  and  moveables  of  all  kinds,  they  quitted 
this  unfortunate  place  ;  but  soon  afterward,  falling  in  with  an  English 
and  Dutch  squadron  then  in  alliance  with  Spain,  were  attacked  and  nearly 
destroyed,  part  being  taken,  part  sunk,  and  part  escaping  to  St.  Domingo, 
a  piece  of  due  retributive  justice  for  their  extortionate  and*illegal  deeds, 
which  had  now  become,  on  many  occasions,  quite  piratical,  and  unsanc- 
tioned by  the  practices  of  fair  and  honourable  warfare. 

From  this  time  bucaniering  rapidly  declined,  the  majority  becoming 
settlers  in  the  different  West  Indian  islands,  to  which  they  were  induced 
by  the  European  powers  sending  out  ships-of-war  to  clear  those  seas 
and  establish  perfect  security  in  commerce,  which  had  been,  for  a  cen- 
tury, much  interrupted,  and,  so  far  as  regarded  Spain,  often,  for  years 
together,  quite  destroyed.  Those  who  persisted  in  illegal  practices 
were  executed  as  pirates  ;  while  others,  more  disposed  to  acquire  wealth 
by  honest  means,  received  encouragement  from  the  local  governments 
in  grants  of  land.  The  renewal  of  war  with  Spain  occasionally  drew 
forth  some  of  the  more  turbulent  spirits  from  their  peaceful  occupations, 
but  the  greater  portion  had  acquired  settled  habits  ;  and,  in  time,  the 
name  of  bucanier,  as  well  as  his  practices,  became  gradually  obliterated 
among  all  but  the  Spaniards,  by  whom  they  will  never  be  forgotten. 

It  must  also  be  admitted,  that  these  adventurers  acted,  in  some  mea- 
sure, from  principle.  Many  conscientiously  detested  the  Spanish  people 
on  account  of  real  or  alleged  cruelties  toward  the  Indians.  In  plun- 
dering them,  they  believed  they  were  only  despoiling  robbers  of  that  to 
which  they  had  no  legal  claim  ;  and  far  from  considering  their  actions 
as  crimes,  esteemed  ihe.m  not  merely  honourable  but  just. 

If  the  cruellies  of  Pizarro  and  Cortes  have  ever  been  avenged  on 
their  countrymen,  it  has,  doubtless,  been  by  the  bucaniers.  It  is  like- 
"wise  true  that  their  practices  fostered  the  nautical  spirit  of  the  age,  and 
particularly  of  our  own  country,  at  a  time  when  it  was  much  wanted, 
and  which  has  since  been  cultivated  to  such  valour  and  renown.  They 
encouraged  the  spirit  of  enterprise  as  well  as  of  discovery  ;  they  led 
the  way  to  commerce  ;  they  introduced  wealth  in  shape  of  merchandize, 
as  well  as  in  specie  ;  they  made  sailors  ;  they  improved  the  construction 
and  equipment  of  ships  ;  they  fixed  the  attention  of  government  on  the 
best,  and  it  may  be  said  natural  defences  ot  Britain  ;  they  brought  men 
of  rank,  of  fortune,  and  of  talent  to  sea,  who,  but  for  the  inducements 
held  out  by  the  hope  of  participating  in  Spanish  wealth,  would  probably 
have  left  the  naval  profession  to  that  humbler  class  of  society  to  whom 
it  had  been  hitherto  confined,  who,  had  they  even  possessed  the  am- 
bition, could  not  have  enjoyed  the  means  to  raise  it  to  that  pitch  of 
glory  it  has  ever  since  retained. 


PREFACE.  XV 

Our  obligations  to  the  bucaniers  are,  therefore,  not  inconsiderable. 
While  these  are  admitted,  let  us  not  forget  to  condemn  freebooting 
practices,  directed  too  often  against  every  age  and  sex,  against  the  in 
nocent  trader  as  well  as  guilty  plunderer  of  the  Indians,  against  friends 
as  well  as  foes.  Their  system  was  fitted  only  for  a  ruder  age,  and  na- 
turally expired  with  the  occasion.  It  holds  up  to  view  much  for  our 
wonder,  but  nothing  for  imitation. 

To  elucidate  still  farther  the  following  "  voyages  round  the  world," 
it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  our  readers,  more  particularly  the  younger 
part,  to  give  some  idea,  of  the  structure  of  the  globe,  the  formation  of 
some  of  the  southern  islands,  with  such  additional  remarks  on  their 
language,  government,  and  manners,  as  may  render  their  history  and 
condition  perfectly  intelligible. 

Various  theories  have  been  given  to  the  world,  by  learned  men,  on  its 
probable  origin  and  structure.  To  detail  these  is  not  our  intention. 
The  subject  occupies  many  and  large  volumes,  and  is  daily  giving  birth 
to  many  more.  M.  Cuvier,  of  the  French  National  Institute,  and  Dr. 
Knight,  of  Belfast,  in  Ireland,  have  very  recently  made  farther  research- 
es on  this  intricate  and  uncertain  subject,  but,  perhaps,  without  more 
general  success  than  some  of  their  predecessors.  Public  opinion  is, 
flnd  has  been  for  some  years,  divided  between  the  systems  of  Dr.  James 
Hutton  and  Professor  Werner,  the  latter  of  which  is  likewise  called  the 
Neptunian  theory,  and  of  these  a  short  account  is  necessary. 

Dr.  Hutton  supposes  that  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  bodies  which 
compose  our  globe  bear  the  marks  of  being  composed  of  substances  of 
much  more  ancient  date,  or  in  other  words,  that  the  present  world  is 
formed  from  the  wrecks  of  a  former.  For  the  remains  are  so  generally 
spread  in  nature,  that  no  doubt  the  strata,  which  constitute  the  pre- 
sent continents,  are  merely  new  combinations  of  other  strata  infinitely 
older. 

The  present  rocks  having  all  existed  in  the  form  of  loose  materials  at 
the  bottom  of  the  sea,  must  have  been  consolidated  and  converted  into 
stone  by  the  operation  of  some  very  powerful  and  general  agent.  This 
agent  he  considers  to  be  subterranean  fire.  The  pressure  of  the  super- 
incumbent ocean  prevented  the  heat,  however  intense,  from  volatilizing 
those  substances,  which,  under  the  lighter  pressure  of  our  atmosphere, 
it  would  have  consumed.  The  same  pressure,  by  keeping  these  sub- 
stances united,  which  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  are  easily  separated, 
would  probably  occa'sion  fusion,  which  in  our  hottest  furnaces  produce 
only  calcination. 

Another  circumstance  is,  that  the  stratified  rocks,  instead  of  being 
horizontal,  or  nearly  so,  as  they  were  no  doubt  originally,  aro  now  of  all 
degrees  of  elevation  even  to  the  perpendicular,  and  those  which  were 
once  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  are  now  raised  many  thousand  feet  above 
its  surface.  From  this,  as  well  as  from  the  inflections,  breakings,  and 
separations  of  the  various  strata,  it  is  deduced  that  they  were  raised  by 
some  groat  expansive  power  acting  under  them.  This  must  be  the  vol- 
cano, or  earthquake,  but  in  a  more  violent  d-^grec  than  we  have  wit- 
nessed these  phenomena.  The  very  great  disturbance  of  the  strata 
cannot  be  traced  to  any  other  cause. 

A  fourth  consideration  is,  the  great  breaches  among  rocks,  which, 
contrary  to  other  divisions  of  nature,  are  filled  up  by  materials  quite 
dillerent  from  those  that  surround  them.  These  are  what  are  called  the 
veins.  They  include  not  only  metallic  substances,  but  whinstone,  por- 
phyry, and    granite.     These   arc   of  posterior  forraatioi     o  the   8*a-ata 


Xvl  "  PREFACE. 

which  they  intersect,  and  bear  marks  of  the  violence  with  which  they 
have  come  into  their  place.  The  materials  of  all  these  veins  have  been 
melted  by  subterraneous  heat,  and  while  in  a  state  of  fusion,  injected 
among  the  fissures  and  cavities  of  rocks  already  formed,  but  moved 
from  their  original  place. 

All  mineral  bodies,  it  is  likewise  remarked  by  Dr.  Hutton,  are,  with- 
out exception,  going  fast  to  decay  when  exposed  to  the  atmosphere. 
That  from  the  mountain  to  the  sea-shore,  from  the  softest  clay  to  the 
hardest  quartz,  all  are  undergoing  a  separation  of  their  parts,  and  carried 
down  by  rivers  and  depositions  from  the  atmosphere,  to  be  again  de- 
posited in  the  sea.     Thus  far  the  oatline  of  Hutton. 

Werner's  geognosy,  as  he  terms  it,  allows  that  a  very  rational  theory 
of  the  exterior  crust  of  the  globe  may  be  formed,  but  that  is  difficult  or 
impracticable  to  gain  any  definite  knowledge  of  the  interior.  It  is 
certain,  that  some  portion  of  it  has  been  in  a  fluid  state,  from  its  being 
now  in  a  spheroidal  form.  The  crystalline  figure  of  granite  and  other 
rocky  substances,  constituting  the  base  of  that  part  of  the  earth  which 
we  know,  are  sufficient  proofs  that  they  have  been  in  a  state  of  minute 
dissolution.  The  stratified  appearance  of  the  majority  of  mountains  and 
rocks,  evinces  they  are  accumulations  of  precipitates  or  sediments  de- 
posited one  over  another.  The  numerous  remains  of  marine  animals 
found  imbedded  in  many  rocks,  and  of  which  some  species  still  exist  in 
our  seas,  render  it  highly  probable,  that  this  solution  was  aqueous  ;  that, 
in  fact,  a  vast  ocean  once  covered  the  globe  to  a  considerable  height. 
The  inference  is,  that  the  exterior  part  of  the  globe  has  been  entirely 
dissolved  by  the  waters  which  surrounded  it,  and  from  this  solution 
certain  chemical  precipitations  took  place,  which  have  formed  the  crusts 
we  now  see. 

This  view  is  supported  by  a  variety  of  arguments  and  proofs  drawn 
from  the  congeries  of  strata,  each  composed  of  a  certain  set  of  minerals, 
nearly  the  same  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  These  congeries  Werner 
calls  formations,  divided  into  six  classes,  four  of  which  are  universal 
over  the  globe,  and  two  partial,  distinguished  by  appropriate  names. 
This  theory,  the  latest,  most  celebrated,  and,  on  the  whole,  the  clearest, 
is  probably  the  most  consonant  to  truth. 

Another  subject  always  interesting  to  the  navigator,  is  the  flux  and  the 
reflux  of  the  sea,  and  the  cause  of  these  phenomena.  The  theory  of 
lunar  attraction,  adopted  by  Newton,  was  mentioned  by  Plutarch,  and 
was  taught  through  the  middle  and  dark  ages  ;  but  as  attraction,  or  a 
body  acting  where  it  is  not,  is  an  absurdity  in  terms,  we  shall  introduce 
our  readers  to  the  more  rational  theory  of  Sir  Richard  Phillips,  which 
proves  that  the  tides  are  mere  oscillations  of  ocean,  and  that  these 
oscillations  are  caused  by  the  motions  of  the  earth  and  moon,  and  are 
necessary  consequences  of  mutual  action  and  reaction,  without  any  le- 
gerdemain powers  like  that  of  attraction,  repulsion,  or  gravitation. 

The  tides,  says  Sir  Richard  Phillips,*  are  simple  and  palpable  phe- 
nomena of  motion.  They  are  caused  by  the  disturbance  of  the  centre 
of  the  earth's  motion  ;  and  this  disturbance  is  rendered  apparent  by 
the  waters  of  the  sea,  because  fluids,  as  fluids,  can  move  from  place  to 
place,  so  as  to  restore  any  disturbed  equilibrium.  The  solid  parts  of  "ihe 
earth  may  have  a  tendency  to  move,  but  the  moving  power,  in  this  case, 
is  great  enough  only  to  move  the  fluids  ;  and  when  the  equilibrium  is 
wstored  by  these,  the  force  created  by  the  disturbance  ceases  to  act. 

*  Monthly  Magazine,  No.  345. 


PREFACB.  XVll 

If  the  earth  turned  on  a  mathematical  centre,  (or  axis,)  and  no  cause 
ever  disturbed  the  forces  acting  on  each  side  of  that  centre,  (or  axis,) 
there  would  be  no  tides,  or  flux  and  reflux  of  the  waters. 

But  if  the  forces  which  revolve  the  earth  were  to  act  unequally  on  its 
sides,  so  as  to  have  a  tendency  to  vary  the  centre,  then  the  waters,  by 
their  mobihty,  would  restore  the  equilibrium  as  the  disturbance  took 
place,  so  that  the  disturbance  v?ould  be  simultaneously  corrected,  but 
the  means  of  correction  would,  by  the  motions  of  the  waters,  produce 
what  are  called  tides. 

If  the  earth  were  a  smooth  sphere,  equally  covered  with  water, 
equable  and  uniform  motions  would  cause  no  tides.  But  if  the  earth 
were  not  a  true  homogeneous  sphere,  or  had  projecting  parts  on  one 
side,  or  were  denser  on  one  side  than  on  the  other,  then,  as  the  momenta 
of  the  two  sides,  produced  by  a  common  force,  must  necessarily  be 
equal,  the  side  least  dense,  or  having  least  matter,  would  perform  a 
larger  circuit  than  the  other  ;  or,  in  other  words,  the  centre  of  gyration 
and  the  mathematical  centre  would  not  be  the  same,  and  then  the 
moveable  fluids,  because  moveable  and  least  dense,  would  rush  to  re- 
store the  equilibrium. 

If,  instead  of  a  projecting  side,  we  were  to  suppose  a  small  globe  to 
be  annexed  or  joined  to  the  earth,  both  revolving  together  on  a  common 
centre,  or  centre  of  their  quantity  of  matter,  then  the  centre  of  gyration 
would  be  considerably  elevated  toward  that  side,  and  the  waters,  in 
respecting  that  centre,  would  be  impelled  toward  the  annexed  globe. 

Suppose,  farther,  that  the  annexed  globe  were  separated  from  the 
other,  and  cariied  to  a  distance,  their  masses  still  revolving  about  a  com- 
mon centre  acting  and  reacting  through  a  fixed  or  gaseous  lever,  it  is 
evident  that  the  former  effect  would  not  be  diminished,  and  that  the 
waters,  in  being  able,  by  their  mobility,  to  respect  that  centre  of  motion, 
would  be  impelled  toward  the  separated  globe.* 

Such  are  the  circumstances  of  the  earth  and  moon.  Thoy  move  round 
a  common  centre  or  fulcrum  in  the  medium  of  space,  the  arms  or  dis- 
tances of  the  gaseous  lever  being  in  the  inverse  duplicate  ratio  of  their 
distances  and  of  their  quantities  of  matter ;  and  the  mundane  fluids,  as 
fluids,  in  respecting  the  centre  of  motion,  rise  toward  the  centre  of  mo- 
tion, or  toward  the  fulcrum  of  their  mutual  revolution,  which  is  always 
necessarily  in  the  right  line  joining  the  centres  of  the  earth  and  moon. 

But  while  this  joint  revolution  of  the  earth  and  moon  is  performed 
round  the  fulcrum  of  the  gaseous  lever  of  space,  the  earth  is  turning  on 

*  The  reader  who  is  accustomed  to  consider  space  as  a  vacuum,  because 
with  his  eye  he  does  not  see  anything  in  space  ;  or  he  who  has  adopted  the 
notion  of  a  vacuum,  because  any  matter  in  space  might  interfere  with  the 
necessary  perpetuity  of  Newton's  whimsical  projectile  force,  may  ask  what 
connects  the  bodies  when  thus  separated  ?  To  this  it  may  be  replied,  that 
the  gaseous  medium  which  fills  space  is  as  perfect  a  lever  as  a  rod  of  iron  or 
platina,  though  it  propagates  force  to  any  point  by  a  law  sui  generis,  or  diffu- 
sively as  the  reciprocal  square  of  the  distances ;  and  is  more  sensible  and 
perfect  than  a  fixed  lever,  in  the  exact  proportion  of  its  rarity — that  is,  the 
more  rare  the  more  sensible,  and  the  more  capable  of  propagating  motion 
and  force  from  one  part  of  space  to  another.  All  the  bodies  in  the  universe 
are  thus  necessarily  connected,  and  the  connexion  is  formed  by  the  gaseous 
medium  filling  space,  which  diffuses  or  diverges  all  forces  and  motions  in- 
versely as  the  squares  of  the  distances,  and  directly  as  the  quantities  of  mat- 
ter moving  with  equal  velocity.  Solid  levers  propagate  force  in  right  lines 
by  propulsion,  and  fluid  and  gaseous  ones  in  spheres  by  difFusion. 

2* 


XVlll  PREFACE. 

its  axis  by  a  separate  motion  ;  and  as  all  parts  of  its  surface  are  succes- 
sively presented  to  the  moon,  or  to  the  common  fulcrum,  so  the  successive 
portions  of  water  are  elevated  tov^'ard.  the  moon  or  fulcrum  ;  and  hence 
the  phenomena  arise  which  we  call  tides  governed  necessarily  in  suc- 
cessive rotations  by  the  times  which  the  moon,  or  the  common  fulcrum, 
passes  the  meridian  of  any  places. 

The  fulcrum  of  the  earth  and  moon  is  the  point  about  which  both  re- 
volve, and  is  the  centre  of  their  reciprocal  momenta.  It  necessarily  lies 
in  the  line  which  joins  the  centres  of  the  earth  and  moon  ;  and,  being 
the  centre  of  their  joint  momenta,  is  the  point  acted  upon  by  the  sun's 
impulses  on  the  medium  of  space,  in  producing  the  orbicular  motion  ; 
and  is,  therefore,  constantly  in  the  earth's  orbit ;  while  the  centres  of 
the  earth  and  moon  constantly  revolve  around  it,  by  their  mutual  action 
and  reaction  on  each  other  through  the  medium  of  space. 

The  moveable  fluids  always  accommodate  themselves  to  the  centre  of 
gyration,  which  becomes  their  centre,  without  regard  to  the  disposition 
of  the  fixed  concrete  masses,  which  they  keep  in  mundane  equilibrium : 
hence  it  is,  that  if  a  mountain  on  one  side  of  a  globe  occasions  the  cen- 
tre of  gyration  to  approach  that  mountain,  the  waters,  in  accommodating 
themselves  to  that  centre,  will  accumulate  about  the  mountain  :  hence, 
if  another  globe  be  annexed  in  contact,  (suppose  the  moon  in  contact  with 
the  earth,)  and  the  centre  of  gyration  were  then  raised  considerably 
toward  that  annexed  globe,  the  waters,  in  respecting  the  circle  of  gyra- 
tion performed  by  both  globes,  would  fill  up  the  chasms  between  the 
curved  surfaces  of  the  two  globes  :  and  hence  also,  if  the  two  globes, 
being  separated  and  connected  in  motion  only  by  a  gaseous  lever,  (like 
the  earth  and  moon  in  a  medium  of  space,)  still  the  centre  or  fulcrum 
of  motion  would,  as  a  centre  of  gyration,  govern  the  moving  waters,  and 
they  would  flow,  or  endeavour  to  flow,  toward  that  fulcrum,  and  would 
even  flow  around  it,  if  they  were  not  restrained  by  a  local  rotatory  force 
like  that  of  the  earth,  and  by  a  density  of  the  fluid,  sufficient  to  counter- 
act the  tendency  to  ascend  to  the  common  centre  of  motion. 

Suppose  the  earth  to  be  turning  on  its  axis,  with  the  fulcrum  vertical 
over  the  meridian  of  central  Africa,  where,  as  there  is  no  sea,  there  will 
be  no  apparent  tide — though  the  seas  of  the  Antarctic  Ocean  would  be 
slightly  affected.  In  an  hour  the  rotation  carries  the  shores  of  the  At- 
lantic opposite  the  moon  or  fulcrum,  and  the  waters  being  capable  of 
rushing  to  restore  the  equilibrium,  in  consequence  of  the  disturbance 
already  explained,  they  rise  toward  the  fulcrum  or  centre  of  lunar  and 
mundane  gyration,  and  the  elevation  continues  as  the  Atlantic  passes 
under  the  moon  or  fulcrum. 

But  when  the  Atlantic  shores  of  America  arrive  opposite  the  moon  or 
fulcrum,  the  waters  rise  on  the  coast,  and  fill  the  entrances  of  the  rivers, 
when  the  continent  is  presented  to  the  moon  or  fulcrum,  and  then  no 
tide  is  raised.  Nevertheless,  the  waters  were  brought  to  the  shores  and 
left  there — what  then  becomes  of  them  1  The  cause  which  produced 
their  elevation  has  departed  to  another  meridian.  Is  it  not  astonishing 
that  no  one  ever  asked,  or  ever  answered,  this  question  1  Must  they 
not  swing  back,  and  is  not  this  the  second  tide  1  Is  not  this  a  necessary 
cause  of  the  second  tide  on  the  African  and  European  shores  ;  and  is  not 
such  second  tide  a  necessary  consequence  of  the  waters  being  so  accu- 
mulated 1  Would  not  the  constant  succession  of  this  sufficient  cause 
produce  the  same  equable  effect  in  the  secondary  as  in  the  primary  tide  1 
Would  not  such  constant  succession  produce  a  species  of  oscillation 
such  as  exists  in  the  tides  of  the  ocean  "^ 


PREFACE.  -        XIX 

We  need  not  accompany  the  phenomena  to  the  shores  of  the  Pacific, 
where  the  oscillations  are  less,  because  the  liquid  pendulum  is  larger  and 
heavier — but  where  exactly  the  same  causes  produce  a  primary  and 
secondary  tide. 

In  a  word,  the  second  tide  arises  from  the  reactions  of  the  first  tide 
against  the  visible  continents  and  invisible  rocks  which  bound  and  fill  the 
ocean  ;  and  which  reactions  concur  with  the  departure  of  the  force  over 
land  lo  other  meridians,  so  that  a  returning  tide  is  a  necessary  conse- 
quence of  a  primary  one.  And  in  confirmation  of  this  theory  of  the 
secondary  tide,  is  it  not  notorious,  that  in  certain  parts  of  the  South 
Pacific,  where  few  or  no  disturbances  are  created  by  reflections  of  land, 
there  is  but  one  tide  in  twenty-four  hours  1 

The  other  peculiarity  of  the  tides — their  neap  and  spring,  depending 
on  the  relative  positions  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  earth,  are  susceptible  of 
explanation  equally  clear  and  simple.  In  the  quarters,  the  line  joining 
the  centres  of  the  earth  and  moon,  coincides  with  the  line  of  the  earth's 
orbit,  or  with  the  direction  of  the  earth's  orbicular  force  ;  and  the  tide 
is  then  produced  solely  by  the  revolution  of  the  earth  round  the  fulcrum 
of  the  earth  and  moon.  But  as  soon  as  the  moon  departs  in  its  orbit, 
toward  the  solar  conjunction  or  opposition,  from  the  line  of  the  earth's 
orbit,  the  centre  of  the  earth  is  also  carried  on  the  opposite  side  out  of 
the  line  of  its  orbit,  and  the  line  of  the  rotatory  and  orbicular  motions 
no  longer  coincide.  This  disturbance  the  waters  are  able  to  restore  ;  and 
herein  is  a  new  cause  of  tide,  which,  at  Ire  opposition  and  conjunctions, 
not  only  coincides  with  the  direction  of  the  lunar  fulcrum,  but  becomes 
itself  a  maximum,  because  the  earth's  centre  is  then  removed  the  farthest 
from  the  line  of  the  orbicular  force.  Hence  the  spring-tides  at  the  new 
and  full  moon  ;  and  hence  all  the  degrees  of  tide,  as  the  centre  of  the 
earth  and  the  line  of  the  fulcrum  approach  the  direction  of  the  orbit. 

In  fine,  says  this  writer,  I  ascribe  (1)  the  tides  of  the  revoluton  of  the 
earth  round  the  fulcrum,  or  centre  of  the  momentum,  of  the  earth  and 
moon,  which  fulcrum  is  always  in  the  line  which  joins  the  centres  of  the 
earth  and  moon  ;  and  as  the  moveable  waters  accumulate  opposite  that 
fulcrum,  so  they  have  the  appearance  of  being  attracted,  as  it  is  called, 
by  the  moon. 

I  ascribe  (2)  the  double  tide  in  every  twenty-four  hours  to  the  depar- 
ture of  the  force  from  the  sea  over  the  land,  owing  to  the  intervention  ot 
the  great  continents  which  separate  the  two  great  oceans  from  each  other. 

And,  I  ascribe  (3)  the  variable  heights  of  the  tides,  as  apparently  con- 
nected with  the  age  of  the  moon,  to  the  variable  distance  of  the  body  ot 
the  earth  from  the  line  of  its  orbicular  force,  during  its  revolution  round 
the  lunar  and  mundane  centre  of  motion. 

When  the  land,  by  whatever  means,  emerged  from  the  mass  of  waters, 
large  portions  of  the  latter  were  still  left  in  particular  concavities  by  the 
order  of  Providence,  for  the  wisest  purposes  ;  for  it  is  quite  clear  that 
were  it  not  for  this  arrangement,  there  would  be  little  or  no  communica- 
tion between  the  more  distant  parts  of  the  world.  No  commerce  could 
possibly  exist ;  the  expenses  of  conveyance,  added  to  obstructions  of  a 
thousand  kinds,  would  be  altogether  insurmountable.  Rivers,  forests, 
deserts,  mountains,  and  innumerable  hostile  nations,  must  necessarily  in  • 
tervene,  as  we  see  every  day  on  our  continents,  to  interrupt  the  inter- 
course of  distant  portions  of  the  globe,  were  even  the  fatigues,  trouble, 
and  expenses  of  a  land-journey  capable  of  being  generally  encountered. 

The  greatest  of  these  convenient  media  of  communication  is,  as  has 
been  already  alluded  to,  the  great  South  Sea  or  Pacific  Ocean,  extending 


XX  PREFACE. 

from  the  eastern  shore  of  New  Holland  to  the  western  coast  of  America, 
and  from  Cape  Horn  to  Kamtschatka,  a  space  of  about  140  degrees  of 
longitude  by  120  of  latitude  !  This  vast  body  of  water  had  other  claims 
to  consideration  besides  its  extent.  It  was  long  the  object  of  enterprise 
and  adventure  in  the  pursuits  of  fame  and  wealth ;  of  inquiry  for  its 
supposed  southern  continent ;  of  curiosity  as  the  means  of  circumnavi- 
gating the  globe.  It  was  the  last  great  ocean  which  the  skill  of  Euro- 
peans traversed,  and  of  course  possesses  even  to  this  moment  much  of 
the  gloss  of  novelty.  But  it  was  more  particularly  remarkable  for  the 
incredible  number  of  islands  scattered  over  its  enormous  surface,  not 
singly,  or  here  and  there,  but  in  great  and  varied  clusters.  Many  of 
these  have  been  examined  ;  many  hundreds  of  others  are  doubtless  still 
unknown  ;  for  every  ship  that  takes  a  new  route,  or  remains  any  time 
here,  adds  daily  to  our  knowledge. 

So  extensive  and  populous  have  been  these  additions  to  geographical 
science,  that  some  skilful  men  propose  two  new  divisions  of  the  globe  to 
the  old  number  of  four  :  New  Holland,  New  Guinea,  and  some  others  in 
their  vicinity  to  be  named  Australasia  ;  and  all  ihe  rest  Polynesia. 

The  origin  of  many  of  these  islands  differs  materially  from  those  of 
Europe  and  from  each  other.  While  several  are  as  ancient  as  creation, 
others  are  only  recently  elevated  above  the  water.  While  the  support- 
ers of  the  two  great  theories  each  assign  the  operation  of  their  favourite 
cause,  a  third,  totally  independent  of  either,  must  be  added  to  account 
for  many  of  the  new  formations.  This  is  the  action  of  certain  small  ma- 
rine animals,  named  Zoophites,  which  may  be  considered  the  ants  of  the 
ocean.  Their  industry,  in  fact,  exceeds  anything  that  can  be  conceived. 
The  substance  which  they  produce,  or  construct,  is  called  madrepore, 
or  bastard  coral,  sometimes  in  larger  or  smaller  masses,  or  shaped  like 
the  branches  of  trees,  and  growing  like  them  from  stems.  Nothing  can 
be  more  beautifully  arranged.  Were  the  ocean  for  a  moment  to  recede 
from  its  bed,  this  madrepore  would  be  seen  like  an  immense  shrubbery, 
except  that  it  is  more  regular  on  its  summit,  no  part  being  higher  than 
another.  Where  the  tides  operate  such  as  on  the  shores  of  some  of  the 
islands,  or  between  the  smaller  ones  where  the  depth  of  water  is  not 
great,  this  singular  spectacle  is  frequently  seen.  Laying  their  foundation 
at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean,  these  animals  continue  working  without  in- 
termission, probably  for  many  generations,  before  their  fabric  comes  near 
the  surface  of  the  sea. 

Banks  of  coral  are  found  at  all  depths  and  at  all  distances  from  the 
shore.  Known  at  first  as  reefs  and  shoals,  they  soon  become  islands. 
They  are  frequently  observed  in  all  stages,  some  only  beginning,  others 
only  half  constructed,  others  again  finished,  or  at  least  brought  to  the 
surface  of  the  water  ;  several  without  vegetation  having  yet  begun  ;  and 
many  where  soil  has  accumulated  and  this  process  is  observed  in  its  infancy. 

It  is  more  difficult  to  conceive,  however,  how  this  madrepore,  which 
is  in  itself  brittle  and  branching,  becomes  converted  into  solid  rock,  but 
the  solution  is  easy.  As  the  fabric  ascends,  the  interstices  of  this  net- 
work— for  such  it  appears — are  filled  up  by  sands  from  the  continual 
washing  of  the  sea.  From  the  same  cause,  vast  quantities  of  the  coral 
itself  are  broken  off  from  the  outer  parts  of  the  bank,  and  the  loose  pieces, 
added  to  sea-weed,  and  the  variety  of  extraneous  substances  always 
driven  about  by  the  sea,  comes  in  aid  of  the  sand,  and  in  time  fill  up  every 
cavity,  rendering  the  whole  that  compact,  solid  mass  required  for  the 
foundation  of  an  island.  The  sand  being  most  easily  raised  by  the  flux 
of  the  waves,  becomes  lodged  at  top.     Here,  when  once  above  the  reach 


PREFACE.  XXi 

of  the  water,  it  soon  forms  a  resting-place  for  birds.  Their  dung,  feathers, 
and  other  matters,  carried  thither  by  accident,  augment  and  enrich  the 
soil,  preparing  it  for  the  reception  of  roots,  seeds,  and  branches  thrown 
up  by  the  sea,  or  brought  thither  by  birds.  The  decomposition  of  these 
substances  again  tend  to  form  a  mould  in  which  vegetation  thrives.  And 
that  great  treasure  of  the  tropics,  the  cocoa-nut,  which  can  remain  long 
in  the  water  without  losing  its  vegetative  power,  having  at  length  been 
thrown  on  such  islands,  gives  birth  to  the  tree  which  flourishes  best  in  a 
sandy  soil,  and  thus  the  naked  coral-bank  in  time  becomes  the  fruitful 
island,  and  the  habitation  of  man.  That  such  is  the  usual  process  em- 
ployed by  nature,  we  have  many  proofs.  One  is,  that  the  cocoa-nut  tree 
is  often  found  on  such  islands  in  a  flourishing  condition,  when  there  is 
scarcely  any  other  shrub  to  be  seen. 

Captain  Flinders,  in  his  voyage  to  Terra  Australia,  gives  an  interesting 
account  of  a  coral  reef  on  the  southern  coast  of  New  South  Wales. 
Landing  on  it,  and  the  water  being  clear  round  the  margin,  he  distinctly 
perceived  the  various  figures  of  wheat  sheaves,  mushrooms,  stags'  horns, 
cabbage  leaves,  and  numberless  others,  tinged  with  a  variety  of  colours, 
all  exceedingly  beautiful.  The  general  hue,  however,  is  a  dirty  white. 
Several  projecting  masses,  called  negro  heads,  were  lumps  disjointed  and 
standing  higher  than  others,  but  blackened  by  exposure  to  weather  ;  in 
these  the  forms  of  coral,  with  the  admixture  of  shells,  were  clearly  dis- 
tinguishable.    The  whole  may  well  bear  the  name  of  stone-fungus. 

Many  of  these  islands  rise  200  or  300  fathoms,  or  probably  more,  near- 
ly perpendicularly  from  the  bottom  of  the  ocean,  the  Zoophites  having 
an  instinct  to  work  directly  upward.  Yet  it  is  remarkable,  that  when 
ihe  surface  of  the  water  is  attained,  they  can  work  no  longer,  or  at  least, 
if  not  partially  covered  by  that  element ;  for  out  of  it  they  soon  die. 
Providence  thus,  as  with  everything  else,  points  out  the  purposes  of  their 
existence  ;  they  have  certain  duties  to  perform,  and  those  once  finished, 
they  cease  to  have  being.  Where  these  islands  are  more  shelving,  it 
arises  from  the  outer  and  upper,  and  of  course  newer,  portions  of  coral 
being  broken  oflf  by  the  action  of  storms  from  the  outer  edge,  and  wash- 
ed toward  the  centre  of  the  structure. 

The  islands  of  the  Pacific,  in  addition  to  theit  formation  and  numbers, 
offer  much  for  curiosity  and  remark  in  their  population.  This  is  pretty 
extensive,  amounting  in  the  whole,  according  to  the  best  authorities,  to 
300,000  persons.  The  principal  groups  in  which  they  exist,  are  the  Pelew 
islands,  the  Ladrones,  the  Carolines,  the  Sandwich  islands,  the  Marquesas, 
the  Society  islands,  the  Friendly  islands,  besides  some  hundreds  of  others 
considerably  smaller  in  extent,  or  detached.  Whence  they  had  their  ori- 
gin, is  a  fruitful  source  of  contest  and  conjecture  among  the  learned,  and 
is  likely  to  continue  so.  The  most  probable  supposition  is  from  the  con- 
tinent of  America,  in  boats  driven  to  sea  by  stress  of  weather,  unable 
from  want  of  nautical  knowledge  to  regain  that  land  of  which  they  had 
lost  sight,  and  thus  exposed  to  the  mercy  of  the  wide  ocean,  drifting 
they  knew  not  whither  ;  if  fortunate  enough  to  reach  an  island,  there  of 
course  they  would  remain,  and  in  time  their  posterity  become  a  nation. 

That  such  really  was  the  origin  of  these  people  is  undoubted.  Some 
of  the  bucaniers  found  boats  thus  bewildered  off  the  coast  of  Peru. 
Le  Maire,  inl616,  met  with  a  very  capacious  and  sea- worthy  double  canoe, 
containing  sixteen  men  and  eight  or  nine  women,  who  did  not  seem  to 
know  where  they  were,  or  whither  they  were  going.  If  only  one  island 
was  thus  peopled,  they  would  soon  spread  over  the  others  in  this  ocean 


XXll  PREFACE. 

by  the  same  means.  An  instance  of  the  fact  occurred  in  Captain  Cook's 
third  voyage,  and  is  related  at  length  in  our  271st  page.  Besides,  it  is 
well  known  to  all  acquainted  with  these  islands,  on  what  slight  occasions 
•  they  commit  themselves  to  the  mercy  of  the  winds  and  waves  ;  if  a  weaker 
island  be  invaded  by  a  stronger ;  if  two  kings  or  chiefs  quarrel  so  as  to 
proceed  to  extremities  ;  or  if  the  life  of  an  individual  be  sought  by  a 
powerful  enemy,  it  is  common  to  resort  to  this  desperate  alternative  for 
preserving  it.  Numbers  of  these  certainly  perish  ;  but  others  have  been 
more  fortunate  in  reaching  spots  where  their  progeny  have  multiplied. 

The  best  informed  navigators  agree  in  giving  them  a  common  origin. 
Differences  in  features,  manners,  customs,  and  language  are  no  doubt 
frequently  observed,  but  the  general  resemblance  is  sufficiently  obvious ; 
and,  after  all,  the  variations  are  by  no  means  so  great  as  we  met  with 
among  the  various  nations  of  the  continent  of  Europe. 

Few  traces  remain  of  their  American  origin  in  point  of  language. 
Resemblances,  however,  have  been  traced  by  diligent  inquirers,  but  even 
this  forms  a  very  trifling  objection.  Nothing,  it  appears  from  experience, 
is  more  liable  to  change  than  language,  not  merely  in  barbarous  and  un- 
settled, but  in  polished  tongues,  as  we  know  from  the  transformations 
experienced  throughout  those  of  Europe.  The  Latin,  for  instance,  has 
given  birth  to  the  Italian,  French,  Spanish,  and  Portuguese,  and  some 
part  of  our  own,  all  differing  in  every  point  from  their  source,  yet  the 
origin  is  undoubted.  A  considerable  mixture  of  the  Malay  tongue  is 
likewise  said  to  prevail  in  most  of  the  Polynesian  islands.  Their  speech 
is  in  general  soft,  well  modulated,  of  tolerable  compass,  abounding  in 
vowels,  and  judging  from  the  facility  with  which  it  has  been  caught  by 
our  seamen,  not  difficult  of  being  acquired.  The  pronunciation,  however, 
often  differs  both  in  the  names  of  things  and  places  ;  and,  to  obviate  this 
defect,  the  missionaries,  who  have  had  the  best  means  of  becoming  familiar 
with  the  subject,  give  the  following  rules : 

1st.  When  a  single  vowel  forms  or  closes  a  sylable, 
a  is  sounded  as  in  father ; 
e    '  as  in  equal ; 

o  as  in  open ; 

u  as  in  duty. 

Sdly.  When  two  vowels  come  together, 

ae  has  the  same  sound  as  the  adverb  ay  ; 
ai  is  sounded  as  in  fail ; 
au  as  in  autumn ; 

ei  has  the  sound  of  i  long  ;  for  which  this  improper  dipthong 
has,  from  the  first,  been  substituted  in  names  that  are  now  become 
too  familiar  to  be  altered,  as  in  Otaheite,  Eimeo,  Huaheine,  &c. 
00  is  sounded  as  in  the  adverb  too,  for  a  similar  reason  ; 
ou  as  in  our  ;  and 

oehas  the  same  sound  with  oy  in  English  words,  as  in  joy,  &c. 
All  other  combinations  of  vowels  are  to  be  pronounced,  according  to 
the  preceding  rules,  in  distinct  syllables. 

3dly.  When  any  single  vowel  is  followed,  in  the  same  syllable,  by  a 
consonant,  it  has  its  shortest  sound,  as  in  matter,  giftj  otter,  upward. 

4thly.  Every  consonant,  single  vowel,  or  dipthong,  uniformly  retains  a 
distinct  and  appropriate  sound,  subject  to  the  preceding  rules.  The  letters 
w  and  y  are,  therefore,  used  only  as  consonants  ;  g  is  always  hard  ;  and 
th  is  always  sounded  as  in  think.  The  e  is  never  mute.  Thus  Otaheite 
is  to  be  pronounced  so  as  to  rhyme  with  the  adjective  mighty. 

5thly.  That  syllable  on  which  the  strongest  emphasis  is  to  be  place'i 


PREFACE.  SOCm 

u  marked  as  a  long  syllable,  (so  Tongataboo,  Ohittahoo,)  when  the  words 
first  occur ;  but  this  distinction,  agreeably  to  rule  4th,  indicates  no  other 
change  in  the  sound  of  the  vowels  over  which  it  is  placed. 

As  the  point  of  language  is  one  of  essential  importance  to  those  who 
may  visit  the  South  Seas,  or  to  those  who  read  for  information,  it  may 
be  necessary  to  state  that  their  alphabet  consist  of  only  seventeen  letters. 
With  these,  however,  they  express  themselves  with  precision  and  facihty. 
Their  pronouns  are  remarkable,  differing  according  to  the  number  of 
persons  spoken  of ;  we  signifying  two  only  ;  we  two  out  of  three  in  com- 
pany ;  we  an  indefinite  number — have  each  a  distinct  pronoun,  specifically 
marking  the  person.  A  comparison  of  structure  being,  however,  both  more 
explanatory  and  useful,  the  following  is  added  for  general  information  : 

Enelish.  Otaheite.  New  Zealand.  New  Holland.  New  Guinea. 

A  chief.     .     .  Earee    .     .     .  Eareete Latieuo 

A  man  .     .     .  Taata    .     .     .  Taata    .     .     .  Bama  or  MuUa 

A  woman  .    .  Ivahine      .     .  Whahine  .     .  Din  ....  Fazzi 

The  head  .     .  Eupo     .     .     .  Eupo     .     .     .  Wageegee      .  Ea 

The  hair    .     .  Roouzou    .     .  Macauwe  .     .  Morye  .     .     .  Nihouge 

The  ear     .     .  Terrea .     .     .  Terringa    .     .  Melea  .     .     .  Talingan 

The  forehead   Erai      .    .    •  Ezai      .    .    .  Gaul-lo      .    .  PossonAzough 

The  eyes  .     .  Mata     .     .     .  Mata     .     .     .  Meul     .     .     .  Matta 

The  cheeks    .  Paparea     .     .  Paparinga Paring 

The  nose  .    ,  Ahew    .     .    .  Ahewh  .     .     .  Bonjoo .    .    .  Nisson 
The  mouth     .  Otou     .    .    .  Hangartou      .  Kan-ga 

The  chin Ecouwai   .    .  Wal-lo 

The  arm    .    .  Rema    .    .    .  Hazingazingu  Acol      .    .    .  Pong  liman 

The  finger     .  Maneow    .    .  Maticaza  .     .  Da-za-gallie  . 

The  belly  .    .  Oboo     .    .    .  Ateraboo   .    .  Bar-zong  .    .  Balang 

The  navel .     .  Peto      .     .     .  Apeto    .     .     .  Toolpoor   .     . 

Come  hither  .  Harromai  .     .  Harromai  .     .  Cow-e  .     .     .  Nutifay 

Fish.     .     .     .  Eyea     .     .     .  Heica Hissou 

A  lobster   .    .  Toouza      .     .  Roouza Cozze 

Cocoa  .    .    .  Tazo     .    .    .  Tazo     .    .    .  Mazacotu  .    .  Lamas 
Sweet  potatoesCumala      .     .  Cumala 

Yams    .     ,    .  Tuphwhe  .    .  Tuphwhe    : Oufi 

Birds     .    .    .  JIannu .    .    .  Mannu Onfa 

No  .    .    .    .  Ouze     .    .    .  Raouza  .    .    .  Beall    .    .    .  Eay 

One ....  Tahai    .    .    .  Tahai Tika 

Two      .     .     .  Rua ....  Rua Roa 

Three  .    .    .  Tozow  .    .    .  Tozow Tola 

Four     .    .    .  Hea       ...  Ha Fatta 

Five     .    .    .  Rema    .    .    .  Rema Lima 

Six  ...    .  Ono       .    .     .  Ono Wamma 

Seven   .     .     .  Hetu     .     .     .  Etu Fita 

Eight     .     .     .  Warou  .     .     .  Warou .'  Wala 

Nine      .     .     .  Heva     .     .     .  Iva Sivoa 

Ten       .     .     .  Ahouzou   .     .  Angahouzou     ......  Sanga-foula 

The  teeth  .     .  Nihio    .     .     .  Hennihew Ysang 

The  wind  .     .  Mattai  .     .     .  Mehou 
A  thief  .     .     .  Teto      .     .     .  Amootoo 
To  examine   .  Mataitai    .    .  Mataketake 

To  sing      .    .  Heiva  .    .    .  Eheara Adoua 

Bad  ....  Eno      .    .    .  Renou .    .    .  Wee-re 

Trees    .'   .     .  Ezaou  .    .     .  Ezatou Talil 

In  addition  to  the  preceding,  which  may  be  consulted  for  the  sake  of 
comparison  by  the  curious  and  scientific,  some  additions  are  judged  ne- 
cessary of  important  words,  useful  to  the  practical  navigator  in  the  supply 
of  his  wants,  or  for  facilitating  general  intercourse  with  the  natives. 


XXIV 


PREFACE. 


OTAHEITE. 


Booa 
Moa  -    - 
Euree    - 
Eure-eure 
Oozoo    - 
Hearee  - 
Mia  -    - 
Faee 
Mora     - 
Mattow  - 
Mow 
Toura    - 
Eupea    - 
Miti  -    - 
Pazoree 


Ehaha    -    - 

Ewy 

Hedede  -  -  -  - 
Eora      .... 

Emattee  -  -  - 
Ehuff6  .... 
Etete-do  -  .  . 
Eraei-te  -  .  - 
Eputa  -  .  -  - 
Eawa-tere  -    .    - 

Epo 

He-kye  .... 
Eenu6  -.  -  -  - 
Emarangi  -  -  - 
Esow-howoo-doo 
Etonga  .... 
Etehu  -  .  .  - 
Etaka    -    .    .    . 


A  hog 

Maa     -    .    - 

-  To  eat 

A  fowl 

Inoo      ... 

-  To  drink 

A  dog 

Harre  ... 

.  Togo 

Iron 

Arrea  ... 

-  To  stay 

Bread-fruit 

Ete-    -    -    - 

-  To  understand 

Cocoa-nuts 

Worride    -    - 

.  To  be  angry 

Bananas 

Teparahi  -    - 

.  To  beat 

Wild  plantains 
A  duck 

Roa      .    .    - 

.  Tall 

Poto     .    .    . 

-  Short 

A  fish-hook 

Waroido  -    « 

-  To  steal 

A  shark 

Nehenne  -    . 

.  Sweet 

A  rope 

Mala-mala     . 

.  Bitter 

A  net 

Pia-     .     .    . 

.  FuU 

Good 

Timahah  .    - 

-Heavy 

Hungry 

Mama  -    .    « 

.  Light 

NEW  ZEALAND. 

Fire 

Epono      .    . 

-  To  tell  truth 

Water 

Ewaka     •    . 

-  A  canoe 

Hatred 

E-de-ding-ee 

-  To  sell 

Health 

Eomi  ... 

.  To  give 

Sick,  or  dead 

Eka-ou    .    - 

-  To  swim 

Love 

Rak6  -    -    . 

-  Satisfied 

To  see 

My-ty-    .    . 

-  Good 

To  taste 

Mackrowa     - 

-  Bad 

Sun-rise 

Ewy-you-     - 

.  Milk 

Noon 

Pah-hee  -     - 

-  A  ship 

Sun-set 

Ewharr6-     . 

.  A  house 

To  eat 

Ea-wha    -    - 

-  A  harbour 

To  drink 

Emoki      -     - 

-  To  work 

North 

Ewhatu   -     . 

-  Star 

South 

Ematangee  . 

-  Wind 

East 

E-hua  -    .    - 

-  Rain 

West 

Emmahane6 

.  Hot 

To  tell  a  lie 

Makaradee   . 

-  Cold 

KING  GEORGE'S  SOUND,  N.  W.  Coast 


Cauts-hock 

Co-OS     . 

Elseet    - 

Luk-sheet 

Maa-kook 

Nah-heir 

Jah-putz 

E-oo-mer 

How-whilk 


One.  . 
Two  . 
Three  . 
Four 
Five  . 
Six  .  . 
Seven  . 
Eight  . 
Nine 
Ten.    . 


Clothing 

A  man 

Fish 

Fresh  water 

Trade,  or  barter 

Give  me 

A  canoe   ' 

To  eat 

A  friend 


Qua-quaaker  > 
Qui-aslzik  - 
Sloot's-man  - 
Tsi-kiminny  - 
Sikets-sko  • 
Etts-auk  .  • 
Kow-iltz  .  • 
Jah-poaks 


King  George's 

Sound. 
Saw-wak  .  . 
Atla.  .  .  . 
Catsa  .  .  . 
Mo  ...  . 
Socha  .  .  . 
Nopo  .  .  . 
Atlapo  .  .  . 
Atlaqudsh  .  . 
Saw-aquash  . 
High-ho     .     . 


Numerals 

Salamoti's 
Islands. 
laci  .  . 
Loua  . 
Tolou  . 
Fa  .  . 
Lima  . 
Houve  . 
Fito  .  . 
V-alo  . 
Ivvou  . 
Ongefoula 


of 

Caroline 
Islands. 
.  Iota  . 
.  Rua. 
.  Toloo 
.  Tia  . 
.  Leema 
.  Honoo 
.  Fizoo 
.  Warrow 
.  Heevo 
.  Segga 


OF  America. 
•  The  sea  beaver 

A  wolfs  skin 

A  woman 

Iron 

A  rope 

Wood 

To  steal 

Copper  or  brass 


'Pelew 
Islands. 

.  Tong 

.  Oroo 

.  Othey 

.  Oang 

.  Aeem 

.  Malong 

,  Oweth 

.  Tei 

.  Etew 

.  Mackoth 


PREFACE. 

Patagonia 

pronunciation  guttural. 

Calemi  .     . 

.    .  Young 

Gialerae   .     .     .  Fire 

Her    .    .    . 

.    .  Head 

Holi     ....  Water 

Oter  .    .     . 

.     .  Eye 

Arc       ...        Sea 

Or      .     .     . 

.     .  Nose 

Oni      ....  Wind 

Ani    .    .    . 

.     .  Wolf 

Ohone       .     .     .  Hurricane 

Cache     .    . 

.    .  Goose 

Mechiere .    ,    .  To  eat 

Hoi    .     .     . 

.    .  Fish 

Ohomagse     .    .  To  fight 

Siameni 

.    .  OysCer 

Terrecai  .     .     .  Cloth 

Conne    .     . 

.     .  To  look 

Theu   ....  Snow 

Hai    .     .     . 

.     .  To  come 

Holl     .    .    .    .  A  dog 

Rei    .     .     . 

.    .  To  go 

Irocoles    .    .    .To  cook 

XX? 


Capac     ....  Root  used  as  bread 

The  government  of  most  of  the  South  Sea  islands  is  an  hereditary 
monarchy,  under  whom  are  many  inferior  chiefs,  independent,  or  nearly 
so,  in  their  several  districts,  but  all  subject  to  the  orders  and  power  of  the 
king.  Rebellions,  however,  are  frequent  against  his  power,  arising  either 
from  his  oppression,  or  the  ambition  and  power  of  some  of  the  chiefs. 
The  royal  person  is  commonly  held  sacred  in  ordinary  times.  He  has 
his  peculiar  attendants,  his  houses,  his  lands,  his  revenues,  besides  taking 
from  others  what  he  may  think  proper,  for  his  will  is  the  only  guide  for 
the  amount  of  these  forced  contributions.  In  a  period  of  war  the  chiefs 
are  obliged  to  attend  the  king  with  all  the  fighting  men  of  their  districts  ; 
with  canoes,  if  there  be  any  expedition  to  another  island  on  foot ;  and 
with  supplies  of  arms  and  provisions.  Sometimes  refractory  chiefs  refuse 
to  attend  the  king's  summons,  instances  of  which  continually  occur  in  all 
the  islands ;  but  it  is  only  the  very  powerful  that  dare  do  this.  The 
weaker  are  punished  for  their  remissness. 

Next  in  rank  to  the  chiefs  are  their  younger  brothers,  tayos,  or  friends. 
These  have  the  care  of  the  more  scattered  possessions  of  their  superiors, 
receive  and  make  use  of  the  products  for  themselves,  on  condition  of  oc- 
casionally entertaining  the  principal  chief  on  his  excursions,  or  when 
scarcity  prevails  at  his  usual  residence..  Added  to  these  are  others  still 
lower  in  the  scale  of  rank,  down  to  the  toulous,  or  servants,  each  of  whom 
•has  some  interest  in  the  produce  of  the  ground.  The  power  of  the 
chiefs  extends  also  to  the  sea-side  in  preventing  fishing  in  certain  places 
except  for  his  own  use,  but  this  power  is  seldom  exercised  except  on  verv 
particular  occasions.  The  lowest  class  perform  all  the  labours  requirea 
by  the  chief  with  seeming  willingness,  but  their  services  are  by  no  means 
constant.  They  are  generally  well  treated  ;  and  if  they  please,  may 
change  chiefs  and  districts  at  any  time.  Custom,  not  fear,  is  the  reason 
of  their  respect  and  attachment.  They  are  at  all  times  admitted  as  com- 
panions rather  than  inferiors.  A  stranger  can  discover  little  external 
difference  between  them.  The  king  is  in  constant  communion  with  the 
lowest  of  his  subjects,  and  never  treats  them  with  the  least  distance  or 
haughtiness  of  manner.  It  is  remarkable,  however,  that  with  all  this 
apparent  equality,  the  difference  of  ranks  is  so  substantial,  that  a  low  man 
can  never,  by  any  exercise  of  talents  or  bravery,  become  a  principal  chief; 
while  the  latter,  for  the  same  reason,  though  despoiled  of  his  district  and 
command,  can  never  sink,  in  rank  or  respect,  to  an  inferior  condition.  Any 
of  the  king's  servants  may  serve  him,  and  quit  his  service  when  they 
think  proper,  all  they  receive  in  return,  being,  indeed,  the  only  wants 
known  in  such  a  life,  are  food  and  a  cloth  round  their  middle  ;  the  climato 
requiring  no  other  clothing. 

Tradition  and  some  few  land-marks  form  the  onlv  dependence  of  landed 
3 


XXVI  PREFACE. 

property,  but  these  are  quite  sufficient  for  the  purpose.  No  attempt  is 
made  to  infringe  on  the  rights  of  another,  as  this  would  be  considered  the 
height  of  baseness  and  injustice.  Bequests  on  a  death-bed  are  good  ;  and 
when  there  are  witnesses,  which  is  almost  always  the  case,  never  disputed. 
Hospitality  is  their  great  virtue.  Poverty  is  not  contemptible  ;  but'cove- 
tousness  is  commonly  a  great  reproach,  so  that  t\tcy  who  are  guilty  of  it 
are  attacked  by  the  whole  neighbourhood,  and  their  property  destroyed. 
An  Otaheitan,  particularly,  will  give  everything  he  has  in  the  world,  sooner 
than  be  called  peere  poere,  or  stfngy  ;  at  least  this  was  their  characteristic, 
but  as  they  improve  in  civilization,,  property  is  less  readily  parted  with. 

Their  religion  is  like  that  of  nearly  all  people  ignorant  of  the  blessings 
of  Christianity,  a  system  of  polytheism.  Each  family  has  its  guardian 
spirit,  a  figure  cut  in  wood,  and  set  up  to  be  worshipped  at  the  burying- 
place.  Above  these  are  another  kind,  and  superior  to  all,  the  Great  Spirit, 
born  of  night,  whose  favour  is  courted  only  on  extraordinary  occasions, 
common  affairs  being  considered  beneath  his  notice.  And  it  is  not  a 
little  remarkable  that  in  Otaheite  there  are  Tane,  te  Medooa,  the  father  ; 
Oromattow,  toca  tec  te  Myde,  God  in  the  son ;  Taroa,  Mannoo  te  Hooa, 
the  Llrd,  the  spirit. 

They  firmly  believe  in  a  future  state,  saying  that  no  one  perishes  or 
becomes  extinct.  Punishments  after  death  arc  not  credited  ;  but  degrees 
of  eminence  admitted  according  as  persons  have  acted  correctly  in  the 
sight  of  the  deity.  Every  sickness  or  serious  accident  is  considered  a 
judgment  of  Ph-Qvidence  ;  an  offering  is,  therefore,  made  to  avert  the  evils 
attendant  on  the  supposed  transgression.  The  priests,  though  numerous, 
have  abundance  of  employment  in  births,  deaths,  sickness,  and  feasts, 
being  physicians  in  addition  to  their  cleric^.l  functions.  They  possess 
great  power,  and  are  much  dreaded,  as  being  thought  capable  of  inflicting 
or  removing  diseases,  and  even,  on  some  occasions,  producing  death  itself. 
The  most  horrible  rite  is  that  of  human  sacrifices.  The  victims  are  of 
the  lowest  class  of  the  people,  and  always  slain  treacherously.  When 
dead,  the  body  is  carried  to  the  m'orai  or  burying-ground,  where  the  eyes 
are  scooped  out  and  offered  to  the  king,  who  always  attends  on  such  an 
occasion,  and  is  supposed  to  derive  pecuhar  virtue  from  this  horrible 
donation  of  the  principal  organ  of  the  deceased. 

The  colour  of  the  islanders  is  naturally  an  olive,  but  the  sun  and  use 
of  oil  render  the  majority  something  darker.  The  women,  taking  moni 
care  of  themselves,  display  their  proper  hue,  and  are  generally  distin- 
guished for  many  feminine  characteristics  as  well  as  now  and  then  for 
beauty.  The  men  are,  in  general,  larger  than  Europeans  ;  and  both  sexes 
live  to  an  old  age,  if  not  given  to  debauchery.  The  dress  of  both  is  two 
or  three  pieces  of  cloth,  thrown  over  or  wound  round  the  body,  bat 
frequently  a  single  rag  round  the  middle  forms  the  only  covering.  The 
women  uncover  their  shoulders  and  breasts  in  presence  of  a  chief,  or  in 
passing  the  moral.  Neither  are  they  often  permitted  to  eat  with  the  men. 
Tattooing  is  general.  The  operation  is  painful,  but  so  great  is  the  orna- 
ment in  their  eyes,  that  the  girls,  though  struggling  and  screeching  under 
it,  persist  in  being  thus  adorned?  Garlands  of  flowers  are  common  to 
both  men  and  women.  Children  are  seldom  chidden  and  never  beaten  ; 
their  passions  are,  therefore,  never  attempted  to  be  controlled,  and  this  is, 
probably,  one  reason  why  savages  in  general  give  way  to  them  so  readily. 
Their  ingenuity  in  constructing  their  implements,  canoes,  ornaments,  and 
other  wants,  is  very  great.  All  are  good  judges  of  the  weather.  When 
out  of  sight  of  land  they  steer  by  sun,  moon,  or  stars,  but  their  voyages 
*re  necessarily  very  short,  or  these  guides  would  be  of  little  use. 


THE 


VOYAGES 
ROUND     THE     WORLD 


FERDINAND  MAGLIANES,  OR  MAGELLAN, 

THE  FIRST  CIRCUMNAVIGATOR. 1519-23. 

CoLUMSUs  appears  to  have  been  the  first  who  imagined  the  practicability 
of  sailing  round  the  world,  and  he  left  Spain  for  that  purpose  ;  but  the 
intervention  of  the  western  continent  stopped  his  progress,  and  the 
honour  of  completing  his  design  was  obtained  by  Ferdinand  Magellan, 
commander  in  an  expedition  fitted  out  by  the  Spanish  government. 

Magellan  was  by  birth  a  Portuguese,  descended  from  a  good  family, 
and  born  toward  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century.  His  youth  was  oc- 
cupied in  maritime  affairs,  and  we  find  him  in  early  life  serving  up- 
ward of  five  years  in  the  Indian  Seas,  as  an  otiicer  in  the  squadror 
commanded  by  the  Portuguese  admiral,  Albuquerque. 

For  his  services  on  those  seas,  Magellan  applied  to  the  government 
for  some  recompense  ;  but  this  being  treated  with  neglect,  he  left  his 
own  country  to  seek  employment  in  a  foreign  land.  In  company  with 
Ruy  Falero,  an  eminent  astronomer,  and  one  of  his  associates,  he  tra- 
velled into  Spain,  and  explained  to  Charles  V.,  the  reigning  monarch, 
his  project  of  making  discoveries  in  distant  seas.  The  Portuguese  am- 
bassador denounced  Magellan  and  his  companion  as  deserters,  and  vilely 
depreciated  their  courage  and  capacity,  at  the  same  time  privately  offer- 
-ing  them  pardon  and  rewards,  if  they  would  return  and  serve  their 
native  prince. 

Cardinal  Ximenes  was  then  at  the  head  of  the  Spanish  ministry  ; 
and  the  court,  now  tolerable  judges  of  naval  affairs,  listened  to  the  ad- 
venturers, creating  them  knight  of  the  order  of  St.  James,  and  adjusting 
terms  to  their  advantage  and  satisfaction. 

Magellan's  idea  was,  that  a  passage  might  be  found  to  the  South  Sea 
by  some  stiait  or  opening  on  the  American  coast — that  what  Columbus 
had  asserted  of  the  possibility  of  discovering  a  passage  to  the  East 
'  Indies  by  the  west,  would  be  found  true  in  point  of  fact.  If  this  were 
accomplished,  the  profits  of  both  Indies  would  revert  to  Spain,  as  the 
pope's  grant  conceded  to  Spain  all  countries  west  of  the  Atlantic,  and 
any  discovery  made  from  the  west  would  fall  within  the  terms  of  it.  It 
was  stipulated  that  the  undertakers  should  have  a  twentieth  part  of  the 
profits  with  t!ie  government,  to  them  and  their  heirs,  of  the  places  to  bo 
discovered,  and  the  title  of  king's  lieutenant. 

Magellans  little  squadron  coftsisted  of  five  ships — the  Trinidad, 
having  on  board  Gomez,  an  experienced  Portuguese  pilot  ;  the  Santa 
Viitoria,  under  Lorenzo  Mendo..a  ;  the  St.  Antonio,  commanded  by  Juan 
do  Carthagcna ;  the  St.  Jago,  of  which  Juan  Serrano  was  captain  ;  and 


28  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WaRLI>. 

tliG  Conception,  under  Gaspar  de  Quixida.  These  ships  were  manned 
with  two  hundred  and  thirty-seven  men,  and  among  them  were  thirty 
Portuguese,  on  whose  matured  skill  the  admiral  placed  his  chief  depen- 
dence. Their  supply  of  provisions,  ammunition,  and  stores,  was  on  au 
estimate  of  two  years. 

From  the  first,  great  hopes  were  entertained  of  this  voyage,  and  the 
men  in  general  embarked  with  singular  alacrity,  elate  with  the  prospect 
of  JoadintT  themselves  with  gold.  Their  ultimate  destination  was  a  secret  j 
the  admiral  liad  only  signified  to  his  people,  in  general  terms,  that  he  was 
going  ir^  search  ofundiseovered  countries. 

On  the  1st  o:"  August,  1519,  they  loft  Seville,  and  on  the  27th  of  Sep- 
tember sailed  from  Sanlucar,  steering  for  the  Canaries.  They  refreshed 
at  Teneriffo,  and  early  in  October  passed  the  Cape  de  Verd  islands. 
Thoy  were  leng  in  sight  of  the  coast  of  Guinea  and  Sierra  Leone,  detained 
by  tedious  cahm.  and  here  they  savv  a  number  of  birds  and  fishes  with 
Tvhich  they  were  totally  unacquainted.  They  held  on  their  course,  bear- 
ing along  the  coast  of  Africa,  till  they  crossed  the  line,  seventy  days  after 
their  departure. 

In  the  beginning  of  December  the  admiral  came  to  that  part  of  Brazil 
which  now  is  called  the  Bay  of  St.  Lucia.  Here  they  landed  on  plain, 
low  lands,  and  remained  in  the  bay  till  December  27th,  having  had  fre- 
quent intercourse  with  the  natives.  Some  days  subsequently  to  this,  the 
admiral  anchored  his  squadron  at  the  mouth  of  a  large  river,  supposed  to 
be  the  Rio  Janeiro.  The  inhabitants  were  olive-coloured,  and  flocked 
to  the  beach  in  great  numbers,  beholding,  as  they  imagined,  five  sea  mon- 
sters approaching  the  shore.  When  the  boats  put  out  from  the  ships,  the 
natives  set  up  a  great  shout,  conceiving  them  to  be  young  sea  monsters, 
the  offspring  of  the  others. 

On  the  Spaniards  landing,  a  commercial  intercourse  took  place,  and 
the  natives  frequently  went  off  to  the  ships  in  their  canoes.  Provii&ons 
and  refreshments  of  various  kinds  were  in  such  abundance,  that  for  a 
knave  out  of  a  pack  of  cartas  six  fowl  were  gladly  given  in  e.vchange. 
Here  they  continued  about  a  fortnight. 

In  some  parts  of  Brazil  where  they  landed,  they  found  fruits,  sugar 
canes,  and  different  sorts  of  animals  in  great  abundancp  ;  and  in  the  largest 
of  seven  i^-lands,  at  the  mouth  of  a  great  river,  they  found  a  quantity  of 
jewels  :  they  gave  it  the  name  of  St.  Mary. 

Coasting  onward  toward  the  south,  they  discovered  two  islands  so  full 
of  seals  and  penguins,  that  in  an  hour  they  could  have  catched  a  num- 
ber .sufficient  to  load  all  their  ship.  The  penguins  are  a  large  black  fowl, 
with  a  bill  like  a  raven's  :  they  are  reniarkably  fat,  covered  with  down 
instead  of  feathers,  and  live  entirely  upon  fish. 

Proceeding  along  the  South  American  coast,  thoy  arrived  at  an  immense 
river,  conceived  to  be  that  since  called  La  Plata.  The  St.  Jago  was 
sent  to  examine  whether  there  was  any  passage  through  it.  That  vessel 
was  absent  fifteen  days  :  she  went  up  twenty-five  leagues,  and  brought 
the  notice  that  the  river  turned  toward  the  north.  During  this  interval 
Magellan  himself,  with  two  other  ships,  had  rua  along  the  coast  twenty 
leagues  to  the  south. 

After  these  inquiries  the  squadron  proceeded,  sailing  along  the  shore 
till  they  arrived,  in  April,  1520,  at  a  large  bay,  now  called  by  the  name  o1 
St.  Julian.  Here,  for  the  first  (some  accounts  say  the  second)  time,  they 
saw  a  wild,  gigantic  race,  of  great  fierceness,  who  made  a  roaring  not 
«»like  that  of  bulls.     At  first  the  Spaniards  thought  the  country  unin- 


MAGELLAN.  29 

habite<],  till  after  an  interval  of  some  weeks  they  saw  a  savage  come 
singing  and  dancing  toward  them.  When  arrived  on  the  beach  he  threw 
dust  on  his  head,  and  some  of  the  sailors  going  on  shore  and  performing 
the  same  ceremony,  he  went  on  board  with  them  v/ithout  scruple.  His 
stature  was  such  ihat  a  middle-sized  man  would  reach  but  iiitle  above 
his  waist,  and  his  whole  figure  was  strong  in  proportion.  His  hair  was 
white,  his  body  painted  yellow,  and  he  had  a  stag's  horn  drawn  on  each 
cheek.  Round  his  eyes  were  great  round  circles,  and  his  covering  was 
the  skin  of  some  animal  that  resembled  a  camel  in  shape,  with  the  ears 
of  a  mule  and  the  tail  of  a  horse.  He  was  armed  with  a  bow,  the  string 
of  which  was  made  of  the  guts  of  the  same  beast,  and  the  heads  of  his 
arrows  were  ti])ped  with  sharp  stones. 

When  conclucted  to  Magellan  he  pointed  to  the  sky,  as  if  to  inquire 
whether  the  Spaniards  had  descended  thence.  The  admiral  entertained 
him  to  his  satisfaction  ;  but  happening  to  cast  his  eyes  on  a  looking-glass, 
he  was  so  terrified  or  agitated  that,  starting  backward,  he  beat  to  the 
ground  two  men  who  stood  behind  him. 

The  civil  treatment  this  man  received  induced  others  to  come  on  board, 
whose  behaviour  afforded  great  entertainment  to  the  officers.  One  of 
them  ate  a  basket  full  of  ship  biscuits,  and  drank  a  large  bowl  of  water 
at  a  meal.  The  natives,  as  before  observed,  were  much  larger  than 
Europeans  :  and  their  bodies  painted  with  various  figures ;  they  carried 
bows  and  arrows,  and  were  clad  in  garments  made  of  the  skins  of  beasts. 
They  wore  sandals,  or  a  kind  of  shoe  made  also  of  skins,  and  this  caused 
their  feet  to  appear  like  those  of  an  animal.  Magellan  named  them  Pata,- 
goncs,  from  the  S{)anish  word  fata^  signifying  a  hoof  or  paw. 

These  Patagons,  or  Patagonians,  had  no  fixed  place  of  abode,  but 
wandering  about  erected  for  themselves  a  hovel  or  kind  of  hut,  made  of 
skins  like  those  which  covered  their  bodies.  Their  chief  food  was  raw 
flesh,  and  a  certain  sweet  root  called  Capar.  It  is  reported  of  them,  that 
if  they  are  ill,  they  take  emetics,  or  bleed  themselves,  by  chopping  the 
part  affected  with  some  instrument. 

Magellan  determined  to  continue  here  till  the  return  of  spring,  as  it  is 
winter  in  the  southern  hemisphere  during  our  summer.  He  h^d  ordered 
the  allowance  of  provi-sions  to  be  shortened,  to  meet  this  exigence,  which 
caused  much  discontent  among  the  crews.  The  captains  of  three  ships 
conspired  against  the  life  of  the  admiral,  having  had  several  altercations 
with  him  during  the  voyage.  It  was  represented  that  the  King  of  Spain 
did  not  expect  them  to  accomplish  impossibilities,  that  they  had  already 
proceeded  farther  than  any  other  vessels,  and  they  proposed  that  the  fleet 
should  return  immediately  to  Europe.  As  Magellan  persisted  in  his  de- 
termination to  execute  his  original  intention,  a  mutiny  was  the  conse- 
quence, which  was  not  quelled  till  Captain  Lewis  de  Mendoza,  being 
brought  to  a  trial,  was  hanged,  and  Captain  Juan  de  Carthagena,  and  some 
others  with  him,  were  sent  on  shore,  to  be  left  among  the  Patagonianaf. 
Before  they  quitted  the  station,  they  took  solemn  possession  of  the 
country  by  the  erection  of  a  cross. 

Five  dreary  months  were  passed  in  the  harbour  of  St.  Julian,  during 
which  every  possible  exertion  was  made  to  insure  the  successful  prose- 
cution of  the  voyage.  Before  they  quitted  it,  Magellan  was  guilty  of  a 
notorious  breach  of  hospitality  toward  two  of  the  natives.  Wishing  to 
convey  them  into  Spain,  as  objects  of  curiosity,  he  practised  a  stratagem 
to  hinder  them  from  availing  themselves  of  their  superior  strength.  First 
presenting  them  with  knives,  beads,  and  toys,  so  as  completely  to  fill  their 

3* 


30  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

hands,  some  bright  iron  rings  and  shackles  were  shewn  to  them,  and  as 
their  hands  were  full,  Magellan  proposed  to  put  them  on  their  legs.  Con- 
ceiving them  to  be  ornaments,  and  pleased  with  their  jingling  sound,  they 
unsuspectingly  assented,  until  they  found  themselves  fettered  and  betrayed. 
They  then  struggled,  but  in  vain,  to  liberate  themselves,  and  gave  vent  to 
their  feelings,  by  bellowing  in  a  most  frightfal  manner.  Soon  after  this 
act  of  duplicity,  the  natives  attacked  a  party  of  Spaniards  that  were  on 
shore,  and  killed  one  of  them.  Magellan,  in  revenge,  sent  oil"  twenty 
men  with  orders  to  pursue  the  natives  in  every  direction,  and  to  take 
or  kill  every  one  they  should  find.  After  a  search  for  eight  days,  they 
returned,  without  accomplishing  their  object,  all  the  Indians  having 
retired  into  the  interior  of  their  country. 

On  the  24th  of  August,  1520,  the  squadron  again  set  sail,  the  weather 
being  fine,  and  they  proceeded  on  their  passage  southward,  till  a  violent 
gale  from  the  east  drove  one  of  their  vessels,  commanded  by  Juan  Ser- 
rano, on  shore,  but  happily  the  crew  and  cargo  were  saved.  With  the 
four  rem-aining  ships,  Magellan  entered  a  river  about  thirty  leagues  from 
St.  Julian,  where,  in  a  convenient  part,  he  found  plenty  of  wood,  water, 
and  fish,  and  in  expectation  of  a  better  season,  he  remained  in  that  station 
till  the  18th  of  October. 

Putting  again  to  sea,  and  still  coasting  southward,  they  discavered, 
on  the  festival  of  the  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins,  a  cape  to  which  they 
affixed  that  name.  Near  this  cape  an  opening  was  discovered  by  the 
Vittoria,  which  was  found  afterward  to  be  a  strait,  and  received  its  name 
from  the  ship.  Upon  this,  Magellan  gave  orders  that  all  the  other  ships 
should  carefully  examine  the  strait,  promising  to  wait  for  them  a  certaiu 
number  of  days.  While  the  three  vessels  were  employed  in  this  expedi- 
tion, one  of  them,  commanded  by  Olivarey  Misquitos,  his  cousin,  was 
driven  out  of  the  strait  by  the  reflux  of  the  tide,  when  the  crew,  dissa- 
tisfied with  their  situation,  rose  on  the  captain,  made  him  prisoner,  and 
again  set  sail  on  their  return  to  Europe.  One  of  the  other  two  ships 
had  discovered  a  large  bay,  obstructed  with  rocks  and  shoals,  but  the 
other  had  sailed  on  three  days,  without  any  interruption  ;  and  from  the 
depth  of  the  water,  the  height  of  the  mountains  on  each  side,  and  their 
observations  on  the  tides,  there  was  every  reason  to  believe  that  this  pas- 
sage was  a  strait  by  which  a  communication  was  opened  between  the 
Atlantic  and  Indian  Oceans. 

Notwithstanding  these  promising  appearances,  Magellan  waited  for 
Misquitos'  ship  for  several  days  beyond  the  time  he  had  fixed,  when,  after 
a  consultation  with  the  other  commanders,  he  entered  that  strait  or  arm 
of  the  sea  which  has  ever  since  retained  his  name.  The  entrance  lies 
in  52  degrees  south  latitude,  and  the  strait,  which  is  about  110  leagues 
in  length,  is  very  wide  in  some  places,  and  in  others  not  more  than  half 
a  league  from  shore  to  shore.  On  both  sides  the  land  was  high  and 
irregular,  and  the  mountains  were  found  to  be  covered  with  snow,  en 
advancing  about  50  leagues  west  from  the  entrance.  In  several  places, 
however,  the  lower  lands  near  the  shore  were  clad  with  trees  and  verdure, 
and  presented  on  each  side  a  number  of  beautiful  and  picturesque  scenes. 

In  about  six  weeks  from  their  entering  this  passage,  they  found  them- 
selves again  in  an  open  sea,  the  coast  terminating  v^^estward  in  a  cape,  and 
the  shore  of  the  continent  taking  a  northerly  direction.  The  sight  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  or  great  South  Sea,  gave  Magellan  the  utmost  joy,  he 
being  the  first  European  who  sailed  upon  it.  Magellan  came  to  the  end 
of  the  strait,  and  entered  it  on  the  28ih  of  November,  1520. 


MAGELLAN.  ^1 

Magellan  w-aa  desirous  of  stopping  here,  for  the  purpose  of  refreshing 
his  men,  but  the  natives  were  so  addicted  to  thieving,  that  he  was  obliged 
to  repress  their  depredations  by  force.  Flocking  on  board  the  ships  in 
iraraense  numbers,  they  endeavoured  to  carry  off  everything  within  their 
reach,  and  they  even  seized  one  of  the  boats.  Magellan,  in  revenge, 
landed  with  ninety  of  his  men,  killed  a  number  of  the  inhabitants,  set  tire 
to  their  houses,  and  to  stigmatize  these  islands,  called  them  Islas  de  las 
Ladrones,  or  the  islands  of  Thieves  and  Robbers. 

The  people  were  of  an  olive  complexion  ;  the  men  went  naked,  except 
a  few,  who  wore  a  kind  of  bonnet  on  their  heads,  made  of  the  leaves  of 
the  palm  tree.  Their  hair  was  black  and  very  long,  reaching  down  to 
the  waist.  They  anointed  their  bodies  with  the  oil  of  the  cocoa-nut, 
and  stained  their  teeth  black  or  red.  The  women  wore  coverings  made 
of  the  inner  bark  of  the  palm  tree  ;  they  were  much  handsomer  than  the 
•men,  and  had  long,  thick,  black  hair,  which  reached  almost  to  the  ground. 
While  the  men  were  abroad,  the  women  employed  themselves  at  home 
in  making  nets  and  mats  of  the  palm  tree.  Their  beds  consisted  of  palm 
mats  laid  one  upon  another.  The  weapons  of  these  islanders  \^ere  clubs, 
on  which  they  had  fixed  heads  of  horn.  Their  food  consisted  of  fowls, 
flying-fish,  figs,  bananas,  and  cocoa-nuts.  The  sails  of  their  canoes  were 
mnde  of  broad  date  leaves,  sewed  together,  and  their  boats  were  con- 
trived so  as  to  sail  with  either  end  foremost.  In  general,  the  people  were 
painted  all  over  either  black,  white,  red,  or  some  other  colour. 

They  sailed  from  the  Ladrones  on  the  10th  of  March,  and  next  day 
went  ashore  at  an  uninhabited  island  called  Humuna,  to  which  the  admi- 
ral gave  the  name  of  **  Good  Sighs  ;"  and  here  they  found  excellent 
water  and  abundance  of  fruit  trees,  with  some  gold  and  white  coral. 
During  their  stay,  they  were  visited  by  the  people  of  a  neighbouring 
island,  Zulvan,  who  brought  them  presents  of  fish,  and  wine  made  from 
the  juice  of  the  cocoa-nut.  They  invited  the  admiral  into  their  barks, 
and  being  invited  in  return  on  board  the  ships,  a  great  gun  was  fired  in 
compliment  to  them,  which  was,  so  terrifying,  that  the  visiters  with  great 
difficulty  were  persuaded  to  stay  on  board. 

The  natives  had  also  in  their  canoes  several  kind  of  spices,  and  diffe- 
rent , ornaments  made  of  gold,  which  they  were  accustomed  to  sell  as 
merchandise.  In  person  they  were  short  and  thick,  of  an  olive  colour, 
with  gold  and  jewels  in  their  ears,  and  pieces  of  gold  fastened  to  their 
arms ;  they  had  also  daggers,  knives,  and  lances,  ornamented  with  the 
same  metal.  Their  chief  clothing  was  a  species  of  cloth  round  the  mid- 
dle, made  from  the  inner  bark  of  some  tree,  but  the  principal  persons  wero 
distinguished  by  a  piece  of  silk  needle-work  wrapped  about  their  heads. 

The  Spaniards  continued  at  this  island  somewhat  more  than  ten  days, 
during  which  they  recovered,  in  a  great  measure,  from  the  effects  of 
their  late  sufferings ;  they  were  likewise  enabled  to  lay  in  a  considerable 
store  of  provisions,  wood,  and  water,  for  the  supply  of  the  ships. 

They  left  the  place  on  ihe  25th  of  March,  and  sailing  W.  S.  W., 
arrived  on  the  28th  at  another  island,  which  Magellan  calls  Buthuan,  but 
which  is  not  marked  in  the  modern  maps.  Two  of  his  ofScers  went  on 
shore,  and  were  introduced  to  the  king,  in  a  building  like  a  great  hay-loft, 
thatched  with  palm  leaves,  and  elevated  so  high  on  posts  of  timber,  that 
there  was  no  access  to  it  but  by  ladders.  The  king  coming  on  board, 
presented  Magellan  with  a  quantity  of  gold  and  spices,  and  the  admiral 
gave  him  in  return  two  garments  of  cloth,  made  in  the  Turkish  fashion, 
one  red  and  the  other  yellow,  and  among  those  of  his  retinue  he  distri- 


32  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

buted  knives,  glasses,  and  crystal  beads.  At  their  meals  the  natives  sat 
cross-legged,  and  instead  of  candles,  burnt  the  gum  of  a  tree  wrapped  up 
in  palm  leaves.  In  his  person,  the  king  was  comely,  his  hair  black  and 
long,  and  his  complexion  olive  ;  he  had  gold  rings  in  his  ears,  and  three 
on  each  finger  ;  his  head  was  covered  with  a  silken  veil,  and  a  piece  of 
cotton  wrought  with  silk  and  gold  hung  down  to  his  knees ;  he  wore  a 
dagger  with  a  handle  of  gold,  the  scabbard  being  of  wood,  hollowed,  and 
finely  carved. 

The  men  were  naked,  but  painted  ;  the  women  had  a  covering,  though 
only  from  the  waist  downward  ;  they  had  also  gold  ear-rings.  They 
were  frequently  seen  to  eat  a  fruit  like  a  pair,  cut  in  slices,  and  rolled  up 
in  leaves  like  a  bay  leaf. 

Leaving  this  place,  the  king's  pilots  conducted  them  to  the  isles  of 
Zeilon,  Zubut,  Messana,  and  Caleghan.  In  Messana  they  found  dogs, 
cats,  hogs,  poultry,  goats,  rice,  oranges,  wax,  and  gold. 

From  Messana,  the  king  bearing  them  company,  they  sailed  to  Lubut, 
distant  attbut  seventy  leagues,  and  entered  the  port  on  the  7th  of  April, 
when  they  fired  their  great  guns,  to  the  great  terror  of  the  inhabitants. 
The  King  of  Messana  went  on  shore,  and  so  represented  matters,  as  to 
the  peaceable  intentions  of  the  Spaniards,  that  the  King  of  Lubut  waived 
the  demand  of  tribute,  and  offered  terms  of  friendship  to  Magellan.  Then 
he  and  his  nephew,  with  the  King  of  Messana,  went  on  board  the  admiral, 
after  which  Magellan  visited  the  king  on  shore,  and  found  him  sitting  on 
a  fine  mat  made  of  date  leaves,  with  a  roll  of  cotton  about  his  waist. 
On  his  head  he  had  a  veil  of  needle- work,  a  chain  of  gold  about  his  neck, 
and  jewels  in  his  ears.  Before  him  there  lay  a  number  of  China  vessels, 
some  filled  with  eggs,  and  others  with  date  wine.  For  their  entertain- 
ment, the  king  made  his  daughters  dance  and  sing  naked  before  them. 

The  people  had  the  use  of  weights  and  measures,  and  are  represented 
as  being  remarkably  just  in  all  their  dealings.  Their  houses  were  of 
timber,  at  some  height  above  the  ground,  so  that  the  ascent  to  them  was 
by  stairs. 

Magellan  pursuaded  the  king  and  his  principal  subjects  to  embrace  the 
Christian  religion,  and  their  baptism  was  performed  with  great  solemnity. 
The  king  was  named  Charles,  and  the  prince  Ferdinando  ;  at  the  same 
time  the  queen  and  forty  ladies  were  baptized,  and  among  them  the 
prince's  wife,  who  was  young  and  beautiful.  Her  head  was  adorned  with 
a  triple  crown  of  date  leaves,  and  her  body  was  covered  with  a  white 
cloth.  On  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremony,  and  after  hearing  mass,  the 
king  any  his  principal  people  dined  on  board  the  admiral's  ship,  in  honour 
of  which  visit  all  the  great  ordnance  was  discharged.  About  five  hun- 
dred persons  of  inferior  rank  were  likewise  baptized,  and  in  eight  days 
time,  the  whole  body  of  natives,  except  the  inhabitants  of  one  village, 
followed  their  example  ;  whereupon  the  Spaniards  burnt  the  village,  and 
erected  a  cross  upon  the  ruins  of  it.  The  idols  throughout  the  island 
were  destroyed,  and  crosses  set  up  in  many  places.  In  their  traffic  with 
the  people,  the  Spaniards  had  many  advantages,  receiving  ten  pesos  of 
gold  in  exchange  for  fourteen  pounds  weight  of  iron,  and  considerable 
supplies  of  provisions  for  any  kind  of  toys. 

From  Lubut,  or  Lebu,  one  of  the  Philippine  islands,  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  which  they  continued  several  weeks,  they  sailed  to  the  Island  of 
Mathan,  the  inhabitants  of  which  offered  hogs  as  sacrifices  to  the  sun,  two 
aged  matrons  acting  as  priestesses,  singing  and  dancing  about  the  animal_ 
and  sounding  a  kind  of  trumpet  made  of  reeds.    After  several  prayers  to 


Magellan.  33 

ihc  sun,  V?ith  antic  gestures,  one  of  the  wonren  struck  the  hog  dead  with 
a  lance,  and  put  a  lighted  lanvp  into  its  mouth,  which  continued  burniivg 
during  the  ceremony.  Their  funeral  cerenronies  were  likewise  very  curi- 
ous ;  all  the  principal  women  sitting  round  the  corpse  of  any  chief,  &c., 
five  days  successively,  clothed  in  white  cotton.  Til's  hair  of  the  de- 
ceased person  was  cut  off,  after  which  tho  widow-surtg  a  meiTy  ev)ng,  &c. 

The  Island  of  Mathan  being  governed  by  two  kings,  and  one  of  them 
refusing  to  pay  tribute  to  the  King  of  Spain,  Magellan  prepared  to  reduce 
him.  The  king  desired  to  be  on  good  terms  with  the  Spaniards,  and 
had  sent  them  a  present  of  provisions.  As  to  obedience,  he  would  owe 
none  to  strangers,  of  whom  he  had  never  before  heard. 

Magellan  was  accompanied  liy  sixty  Europeans,  armed  with  coats  of 
mail  and  helmets,  and  attended  by  the  Kingof  Lcbu,  with  a  luimber  of  his 
subjects  in  canoes.  Confident  in  the  superior  courage  and  weapons  of 
his  men,  Magellan  declined  the  assistance  of  tlie  king,  fiud  marched  to 
some  distance  into  the  interior  of  the  island.  Here  he  was  attacked  by 
three  distinct  bodies  of  the  islanders,  in  front  and  on  each  flank.  Their 
united  force  amounted  to  upward  of  six  thousand  ;  their  arms  were 
t)Ows,  arrows,  darts,  and  javelins.  The  battle  was  for  some  time  doubt- 
ful, till  the  admiral's  impetuosity  carrying  him  too  far,  he  was  wounded 
in  the  leg  with  a  poisoned  arrow,  and  his  helmet  being  beaten  off  his  head 
with  stones,  and  being  also  wounded  in  the  right  arm,  so  that  he  could 
not  use  his  sword,  he  was  brought  to  the  ground,  then  stabbed  through 
the  body  wit^i  a  spear,  and  a  lance  thrust  into  his  head.  Eight  or  nine 
of  the  Spaniards  and  fifteen  of  the  Indians  were  also  slain. 

The  Spaniards  would  have  redeemed  tire  body  of  their  commander, 
but  the  Indians  refused  to  part  with  it. 

The  King  of  Lebu,  who  had  embraced  the  Christian  faith,  now  re- 
tiounced  it,  and,  in  concert  with  his  late  rival,  the  King  of  Mathau,  laid  a 
plan  for  the  destruction  of  the  Spaniards.  Those  of  them  who  remained 
on  Jihore  were  invited  to  an  entertainment,  where,  during  the  repast,  they 
were  all  murdered,  evccpt  Don  Juan  Serrano,  whom  they  kept,  in  hopes 
of  getting  a  ransom  for  him  ;  this  the  Spaniards  on  board  would  readily 
have  given,  but  they  discovered  so  much  prevarication  in  the  behaviour 
«f  the  King  of  Lebu,  that,  dreading  the  fate  of  their  companions,  they 
determined  to  put  to  sea. 

When  Serrano  saw  them  about  to  weigh  anchor,  he  fell  en  his  knees, 
imploring  their  interposition,  in  the  most  moving  manner,  tha.t  he  might 
not  be  left  among  the  savages  ;  but  their  fears,  as  their  whole  force 
©mounted  to  only  one  hundred  and  fifteen  jnen,  made  them  deaf  to  his 
entreaties,  and  what  became  of  him  afterward  was  never  known. 

New  commanders  were  chosen  from  among  the  surviving  officers,  and 
as  the  ships  were  now^  in  a  very  bad  condition,  it  was  found  necessary  to 
make  use  of  one,  the  Conception,  to  repair  the  other  two,  into  which  the 
men,  ammunition,  and  provisions,  were  transferred.  This  was  at  the 
Island  of  Bohol. 

One  principal  object  of  this  expedition  had  been,  to  reach  the  Molucca 
islands  by  a  westerly  course  from  Europe.  Before  his  death,  Magellan 
had  ascertained  that  they  were  not  far  from  the  Philippines,  and  his 
surviving  companions  now  agreed  to  proceed  in  search  of  them.  , 

Sailing  from  Bohol,  or  Buhol,  in  N.  lat.  9°  30',  and  steering  to  the 
S.W.,  they  came  to  Chipper,  a  large  island  about  fifty  leagues  from  Lu- 
but,  in  8  deg.  N.  lat.,  and  170  dcg.  W.  longitude  from  their  first  setting 
out.     The  island  abouiKled  with  rice>  ginger,  goats,  hogs,  &c.     The  king 


34  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

received  the  Spaniards  in  a  friendly  manner,  drawing  the  blood  fro-rn  hig 
right  arm  and  marking  bis  body,  face,  and  the  tip  of  his  tongue  with  it, 
in  token  of  peace.  In  this  ceremony  he  was  followed  by  the  Spaniard's. 
Here  all  the  men,  ammunition,  and  stores  were  landed,  and  about  forty 
days  were  occupied  in  repairing  and  refitting  the  ships. 

Sailing  W.  and  S.W.  40  leagues  from  hence,  they  came  to  Caghaian, 
a  hrge  island,  but  thinly  inhabited,  by  Mahometans,  a  kind  of  exiles  from 
Borneo,  who  had  great  quantities  of  gold,  and  made  use  of  pointed  ar- 
rows. Hence  they  sailed  to  Puloan,  an  island  abounding  in  fig^,  bata- 
tos,  cocoas,  and  sugar  canes.  The  people  went  naked,  used  poisoned 
arrows,  and  were  greatly  addicted  to  the  cruel  sport  of  cock-Hghting. 
Their  chief  drink  was  a  kind  of  wine  (arrack)  made  of  riee^  and  which 
was  found  to  be  very  intoxicating. 

From  Puloan  they  came  to  the  rich  Island  of  Borneo,  the  chief  city  of 
which  contained  twenty  thousand  houses.  1'iie  king,  who  was  a  Maho- 
metan, kept  a  magnificent  court ;  be  sent  two  elepnants  adorned  with 
silk  to  bring  the  Spanish  messenger  (with  their  presents)  to  his  palace, 
and  afterward  he  dismissed  them  with  valuable  presents.  When  his 
subjects  approached  the  king,  they  lifted  their  hands  close  together  three 
times  over  their  heads,  then  lifted  up  each  foot,  and  lastly  kissed  their 
hands.  The  island  abounded  in  cattle,  fowls,  melons,  cucumbers,  sugar, 
lemons,  oranges,  mirabolans,  ginger,  camphor,  and  rice  ;  of  which  last 
they  make  great  quantities  of  arrack. 

From  Borneo  they  sailed  to  Cimbubon,  where  they  v/ere  detained 
forty  days  in  repairing  their  ships  and  taking  in  wood  and  water.  Os- 
triches, hogs,  and  crocodiles  were  found  here  in  great  numbers,  and 
they  took  a  fish  whose  head  resembled  that  of  a  hog,  but  with  horns  on 
it ;  the  body  appeared  to  be  an  entire  bone,  and  the  back  was  shaped 
like  a  saddle. 

Bendhig  their  ccurse  hence  to  the  S.  E.  for  the  Moluccas,  they 
came  to  the  islands  of  Solo  Taghima,  whence  the  King  of  Borneo  had 
received  two  pearls  nearly  as  big  as  hens'  eggs. 

Pursuing  their  course  from  hence,  they  arrived  at  the  Island  of  Sa- 
rangani,  where  they  pressed  two  pilots  for  the  Mohiccas.  In  this  voyage 
they  came  to  a  beautiful  island  called  Sanger,  governed  by  four  kings, 
and  on  the  6th  of  September,  in  the  twenty-seventh  month  after  their 
departure  from  Spain,  they  discovered  five  islands,  which  the  pilots 
pronounced  to  b«  the  Moluccas.  The  Portuguese  had  described  them 
a3  situated  among  rocks  and  shelves,  surrounded  continually  with  dark, 
thick  fogs,  and  the  shores  so  shallow  that  it  was  dangerous  sailing  near 
them.  In  sailing  through  the  Archipelago,  the  Spaniards  had  taken 
possession  of  some  junks,  in  one  of  which  they  found  the  son  of  the 
King  of  Luzon,  whom  the  commander  set  at  liberty,  without  consulting 
the  rest  of  the  company. 

In  approaching  one  of  the  chief  of  the  Moluccas,  they  sounded  and 
found  the  depth  of  water  full  a  hundred  yards,  and  on  the  8th  of  No- 
vember, before  sun-rise,  ihey  came  to  anchor  in  the  port  of  Tirridore,  or 
Tidor.  The  king  of  the  island  was  a  Moor  or  Mahometan  ;  he  gave 
the  Spaniards  a  kind  reception,  calling  them  his  brethren  and  children, 
and  a  friendly  intercourse  was  opened  for  the  sale  and  exchange  of 
merchandise.  The  king  was  displeased  that  the  Portuguese  had  in 
preference  established  their  fort  and  factory  on  the  I.^^land  of  Ternate. 
Hereby  they  were  enaH'^d  to  purchase  a  large  stock  of  sp'.ces,  and  also 
to  obtain  for  the  shins  an  abundant  supply  of  provisions.     On  the  island 


MAGELLAN. 


35 


^•as  a  sort  of  tree,  the  bark  of  which,  after  being  steeped  in  water,  was 
draa  out  in  fine  threads  like  silks  ;  these  were  made  into  aprons  by 
the  women,  and  worn  by  them  as  their  only  garments. 

From  Tirridore  they  passed  to  the  great  Island  of  Gilolo,  inhabited  by 
Mahometans  and  Pagans.  The  latter  worshipped  the  first  thing  they 
beheld  in  the  morning.  Among  other  vegetable  productions  in  this 
island,  was  a  reed  about  the  size  of  a  man's  leg,  which  contained  a  large 
quantity  of  pure  water  of  a  very  good  taste.  The  Mahometan  district 
was  governed  by  two  kings,  each  of  whom  had  a  great  number  of  con- 
cubmes  and  children. 

On  the  1 2th  of  November,  a  public  warehouse  being  opened  for  the 
exchange  of  Commodities,  for  every  ten  yards  of  red  cloth  the  Spa- 
niards received  one  bahar  of  cloves,  bein^  near  seventeen  hundred 
weight  ;  for  fifteen  yards  of  a  more  ordinary  cloth,  also  one  bahar  ;  for 
thirty-five  drinking  glasses,  one  bahar  ;  and  the  same  quantity  for 
serenteen  cathyls  of  quicksilver.  The  inhabitants  brought  provisions  to 
the  ship  daily,  and  water  from  springs  on  the  mountains  where  the 
cloves  grew.  This  water  is  hot  when  first  taken  up,  but  afterward 
grows  cold.  A  present  was  sent  from  the  Moluccas  for  the  King  of 
Spain,  consisting  of  two  dead  birds,  about  the  size  of  turtles,  with  long 
bills,  small  heads  and  legs,  and  for  wings  two  or  three  feathers  only,  of 
different  colours,  the  rest  of  the  body  being  a  light  brown.  These  birds 
never  fly  but  when  the  wind  blows  to  assist  them.  By  thcf  Mahometans 
who  thought  they  came  down  from  heaven,  Ihey  were  called  "  Birds 
of  Paradise.  '* 

The  Moluccas  were  found  to  be  rich  in:  different  productions  ;  sugar 
canes,  melons,  gourds,  cloves,  ginger,  rice,  white  and  red  figs,  almonds, 
pomegranates,  oranges,  and  lemons,  with  another  fruit  called  camdicaly 
the  taste  of  which  was  remarkably  cold,  and  a  kind  of  honey  made  by 
flies  less  than  ants.  There  were  also  poultry,  sheep,  and  goats.  When 
they  left  the  port  of  Tirridore,  they  were  attended  by  several  kings  of 
the  adjacent  islands  in  their  canoes,  who  conducted  them  to  the  Isle  of 
Mare,  and  then  took  leave  of  them.  The  ship  Trinidad,  however,  was 
unable  to  keep  the' seas,  and  she  was  left  behind  in  order  to  be  repaired, 
to  prosecute  the  remainder  of  the  voyage  afterward ;  but  it  appears  that 
she  was  taken  by  the  Portuguese. 

And  now  the  Viltoria  alone,  (forty-six  Spaniards  and  thirteen  Indians,) 
wiih  fifty-nine  persons  on  board,  set  sail  for  Europe  ;  J.  Sebastian  del 
Eleano  had  been  appointed  commander  at  the  Island  of  Borneo.  They 
passed  in  sight  of  Ambuno,  (so  in  the  Spanish  original,)  or  Amboyna, 
and  the  Banda  isles,  steering  on  the  outside  of  Sumatra,  and  avoiding 
the  Portuguese  settlements. 

At  Mallua,  which  Ues  in  8  degrees  S.  lat.,  they  staid  fifteen  days  to 
repair  the  ship.  The  people  were  cannibals  ;  their  arms  were  bows  and 
arrows,  and  they  wore  their  hair  and  beards  twisted  up  in  canes.  Sail- 
irig  hence  W.  and  N.  W.  in  a  long  course,  they  came  to  the  Island  of 
Eude,  where  cinnamon  was  found  growing  in  great  abundance. 

To  double  the,  Cape  of  Good  Hope  with  the  greater  safety,  they  sailed 
as  lov/  as  42  degrees  S.  lat.,  where  they  were  obliged  to  wait  seven 
weeks  for  a  wind.  When  they  supposed  they  were  approaching  the 
cape,  they  looked  out  for  land,  and  discovered  part  of  the  coast  or 
coasts  of  Africa,  stretching  in  a  N.  E.  and  S.  W.  direction  ;  and  on 
doubling  the  cape,  they  were  so  distressed  by  hunger  and  sickness,  that, 
the  crew  being  assembled,  many  of  them  proposed  to  put  in  at  somfi 


B6  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

port  in  Africa  for  refreshment  ;  but,  from  a  dread  of  the  Portuguese,  tha 
majority  resolved  on  sailing  home.  This  was  on  the  1st  of  July,  1522, 
at  the  distance  of  about  twelve  leagues  from  the  Cape  Verd  islands. 
For  two  months  they  held  on  their  course  to  the  N.  W.  without  touch- 
ing at  any  port,  during  which  they  lost  twenty-one  persons,  and  the 
rest  were  emaciated,  and  on  the  point  of  starvhig. 

In  this  situation  they  arrived  at  St.  Jago,  on  the  Cape  de  Yerd  islands, 
tvhere  they  discovered,  for  the  first  time,  that  they  differed  one  whole 
day  in  their  reckoning  of  time  from  the  inhabitants  of  that  island.  On 
going  ashore,  and  representing  their  deplorable  circumstances,  the  Por- 
tuguese were  not  backward  in  relieving  their  necessities  ;  but,  on  a  party 
landing  a  second  time,  to  purchase  some  negroes  and  provisions,  and  to 
pay  for  them  with  cloves,  (clavo,)  they  were  made  prisoners,  and  the  rest 
v/ho  were  left  on  board  were  required  to  surrender. 

Sebastian  continued  to  insist  on  the  delivery  of  his  men,  a  bark  be- 
longing to  the  island  passing  and  repassing  between  the  ship  and  the 
shore  ;  till  at  length,  suspecting  some  foul  play,  he  weighed  anchor, 
havi.ng  on  board  only  twenty-two  men,  sick  and  able.  The  wind  being 
fair  they  crowded  sail,  and  on  the  4th  of  September  came  within  sight 
of  Cape  St.  Vincent.  On  the  7th,  1522,  they  entered  St.  Lucar,  with  a 
number  now  reduced  to  about  eighteen  persons.  According  to  their 
reckoning,  tbey  had  sailed  14,000  leagues,  and  crossed  the  equator  six 
times,  having  been  absent  three  years  wanting  fourteen  days. 

Of  the  fifty-nine  that  sailed  from  the  Moluccas,  some  had  been  put  t» 
death  on  the  Island  of  Timor  for  bad  conduct,  thirteen  were  detained  by 
the  Portuguese  at  St.  Jago,  and  twenty  or  more  died  in  the  passage. 
At  Seville,  the  ship's  company  returned  thanks  to  Providence  for  their 
aafe  return  ;  and  at  Valladolid,  where  the  court  resided,  Eleano  and 
the  other  principal  officers  waited  on  the  emperor,  with  such  natives  of 
the  distant  islands  as  had  survived  the  voyage,  and  with  the  presents 
aent  by  their  ships.  Among  these  were  several  Chinese  swords  and 
mamucos,  with  the  rare  birds,  and  abundance  of  rich  spices. 

The  emperor,  Charles  V.,  bestowed  noble  rewards  on  all  who  had  been 
employed  in  the  expedition,  and  the  whole  value  of  the  rich  cargo  was 
distributed  among  them.  The  leaders  he  distinguished  in  a  particular 
manner ;  a  patent  of  nobility  was  granted  to  Juan  Sebastian,  and  an 
annual  pension  of  500  ducats  for  his  life.  For  his  arms  the  emperor 
gave  him  the  terrestial  globe,  with  this  motto  :  '  Primus  me  circumde- 
disd,' — '  Thou  hast  first  surrounded  me.'  Sebastian  and  his  companions 
where  honoured  by  the  whole  Spanish  nation  at  large  ;  and  the  vene- 
rable bark,  the  Vittoria,  became  a  worthy  subject  for  the  ingenuity  of 
the  poets,  and  as  furnishing  matter  for  sundry  historical  and  romancing 
accounts.  The  newly  discovered  strait  had  at  first  assumed  the  name  of 
Vittoria,  but  it  was  soon  afterward  known  by  the  name  of  Magellan, 
which  it  has  retained  ever  since. 


SIR  FRANCIS  DRAKE.— 1577-1580. 

Mb.  Drake  was  first  apprentjced  to  the  master  of  a  small  vessel  trading 
to  France  and  Zealand  ;  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  went  purser  of  a 
ship  to  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and  at  twenty  made  a  voyage  to  the  coast  of 
Guinea.  In  1565,  he  went  to  the  West  Indies,  and"  in  1567,  served 
under  his  kinsman,  Sir  John  Hawkins,  in  the  Bay  of  Mexico.     Being  a 


SIR  FRANCIS  DRAKE.  37 

consl4crable  losor  by  the  last  two  voyages,  he  made  a  third  in  1570,  with 
two  ships,  the  Dragon  and  the  Swan;  and  in  the  following  year  sailed 
again  to  the  same  parts  with  the  Swan  only,  with  a  view  to  gain  such 
experience  and  information  as  might  qualify  him  to  undertake  some 
Voyage  of  mere  importance. 

On  the  24th   of  May,  1572,  he  sailed  from  Plymouth  in  the  Pasca, 
burden  seventy  tons,  in  company  with  the  Swan,  burden  tv/o  hundred 
and  fifty  tons,  commanded   by  his  brother,  John    Drake,  with   seventy  ^ 
three  men  and  boys,  and  provisions  for  a  year. 

In  this  voyage  he  sacked  the  town  of  Nombre  de  Dios,  and  after- 
ward from  a  high  tree  saw  the  South  Seas,  which  inspired  him  with  an 
ardent  desire  of  carrying  an  English  ship  thither.  Drake  was  a  great 
gainer  by  this  expedition,  but  his  generosity  and  love  of  justice  were 
very  extraordinary,  an  instance  of  which  is  worth  recording.  Having 
presented  a  cutlass  to  a  prince  of  the  free  Indians  inhabiting  the  Isthmus 
of  Darien,  the  prince  gave  him  in  return  four  large  wedges  of  gold,  which 
he  threw  into  the  common  stock,  saying,  "  My  owners  gave -me  that 
cutlass,  and  it  is  but  just  they  should  have  their  share  of  its  produce." 

In  his  return  to  England,  Captain  Drake  sailed  from  the  capes  of 
Florida  to  the  isles  of  Scilly  in  twenty-three  days,  and  arrived  at  Ply- 
mouth on  Sunday,  the  9th  August,  1573,  having  been  absent  one  year, 
two  months,  and  some  days.  The  riches  he  had  acquired  he  spent  with 
great  generosity  in  the  service  of  his  country,  fitting  out  three  frigates 
at  his  own  expense,  which  he  commanded  in  person,  under  Walter  Earl 
of  Essex,  against  the  rebels  in  Ireland. 

After  the  death  of  Essex,  Drake  applied  himself  to  Sir  Christopher 
Hatton,  vice-chamberlain  to  the  queen,  by  whose  interest  he  at  lengtli 
obtained  the  queen's  permission  for  an  expedition  against  the  Spaniards. 

His  friends  contributed  largely  toward  this  expedition,  for  which  five 
ships  were  fitted  out.  The  Pelican,  which  he  named  the  Hind,  burden 
one  hundred  tons,  commanded  by  himself ;  the  Elizabeth  of  eighty  tons, 
John  Winter,  captain ;  the  Marigold,  a  bark  of  thirty  tons  burden,  John 
Thomas,  commander  ;  the  Swan,  a  fly-boat  of  fifty  tons,  commanded  by 
John  Chester  ;  and  a  pinnace  of  fifteen  tons,  of  which  Thomas  Moon 
was  the  commander.  The  ships  had  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  able 
men  on  board,  a  large  quantity  of  provisions,  together  with  four  pinnaces 
stowed  in  pieces,  to  be  put  together  whenever  they  might  be  wanted. 
It  is  said  that  all  the  vessels  for  the  captain's  table,  and.  many  belonging 
to  the  cook-room,  were  of  silver,  and  other  furniture  on  board  propor- 
tionably  grand. 

This  fleet  sailed  out  of  Plymouth  Sound  the  5th  of  November, 
1577  ;  but  meeting  with  a  violent  storm,  in  which  several  of  the  ships 
were  damaged,  were  obliged  to  put  back  and  refit.  On  the  13th  of 
December  they  sailed  again  with  a  favourable  v?ind,  and  saw  no  land  till 
the  25th,  when  they  passed  Cape  Cantin,  on  the  coast  of  Barbary  ;  and 
on  the  27ih,  came  to  the  Island  of  Mogador,  lying  one  mile  out  at  sea, 
between  which  and  the  continent  they  found  a  safe  harbour,  where  the 
admiral  gave  directions  for  putting  together  one  of  the  pinnaces,  which 
they  brought  from  England.  While  the  men  were  engaged  in  this  busi- 
ness, some  of  the  inhabitants  came  down,  and  making  signs  of  peace, 
the  admiral  sent  one  of  his  men  on  shore,  whereupon  two  natives  ven- 
tured on  board,  and  told  them,  by  signs,  that  the  next  day  they  would 
supply  the  ships  with  provisions,  for  which  kind  OiTer  the  admiral  gave 
them  linen-cloth  shoes  and  a  javelin.     The  next  day  they  came  to  the 

4 


38  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

tea-side,  agreeable  to  their  promise,  when  one  of  the  men,  whose  namd 
was  Fry,  leaped  hastily  among  them,  imagining  they  had  been  friends, 
when  they  seized  him,  and  threatening  to  stab  him  if  he  made  any  re- 
sistance, carried  him  up  into  the  country.  The  sailors  were  about  to 
attempt  to  rescue  Fry,  but  seeing  others  of  the  natives  appear  from 
places  where  they  hid  themselves,  were  glad  to  recover  their  boat,  and 
make  off  to  the  ship. 

The  admiral  sent  a  body  of  men  into  the  country  to  recover  Fry,  and 
punish  the  treacherous  Moors;  but  they  constantly  avoided  his  people; 
so  that  after  searching  in  vain^  they  returned  to  the  ship,  and  sailed  from 
the  coast  of  Morocco  on  the  30th  of  December.  In  the  meantime  Fry. 
being  e.xamined,  declared  that  the  fleet  consisted  of  English  ships,  under 
the  command  of  Admiral  Drake,  bound  to  the  straits  ;  a  report  which  the 
commander  had  circulated  to  conceal  his  real  design  ;  wheretipon  Fry 
was  sent  back  with  presents  for  the  admiral,  and  an  assurance  of  friend- 
ship ;  but  he  being  sailed,  Fry  was  afterward  sent  to  England  in  a  mer- 
chant ship.  The  admiral  arriving  at  Cape  Blanco  on  the  17th  of  January, 
found  a  ship  at  anchor  with  only  two  sailors  left  to  guard  her,  which  he 
immediately  seized,  and  took  her  into  the  harbour,  where  they  remained 
four  days,  during  which  he  exercised  his  men  on  shore,  to  prepare  them 
for  land  as  well  as  sea  service. 

They  left  this  harbour  on  the  22d,  the  master  of  the  ba,rk  having  in- 
formed the  admiral  that  in  one  of  the  Cape  de  Verd  islands,  called  Mayo, 
there  was  plenty  of  dried  cabitos,  or  goats,  which  were  prepared  every 
year  for  such  of  the  king's  ships  as  called  there.  They  arrived  hero  on 
the  27th  of  January,  but  the  inhabitants  could  not  trade  with  them,  being 
forbidden  by  the  king's  order,  and  had  left  their  villages.  The  next  day 
the  admiral  landed  a  body  of  men,  with  orders  to  march  into  the  country, 
which  they  found  extremely  fertile,  producing  great  quantities  of  cocoas, 
figs,  and  a  very  delicate  sort  of  grapes.  This  island  abounded  with  salt, 
dried  by  the  heat  of  the  sun ;  and  they  found  many  goats  and  kids,  dead 
and  dried,  which  the  inhabitants  had  laid  in  their  way,  but  they  did  not 
think  proper  to  accept  of  them.  Leaving  this  place  on  the  Slst,  they 
sailed  by  the  Island  of  Jago,  and  seeing  two  Portuguese  vessels  under 
sail,  took  one  laden  with  wine  ;  but  the  admiral  detained  only  the  pilot,  dis- 
charging the  master  and  his  crew,  and  giving  them  some  provisions,  a 
butt  of  wine,  their  wearing  apparel,  and  one  of  his  own  pinnaces.  Three 
pieces  of  cannon  were  fired  at  them  from  the  island,  but  did  them  no 
damage.  They  arrived  the  same  evening  at  Del  Fucgo,  or  the  Burning 
Island,  so  called  from  a  volcano  on  its  north  side,  from  which  constantly 
issues  smoke  and  flame. 

To  the  south  of  Del  Fuego  they  discovered  the  beautiful  island  of 
Brava,  covered  with  evergreens,  and  watered  with  cooling  streams,  which 
pour  themselves  into  the  sea,  which  is  so  deep  around  it,  that  there  is  no 
possibility  of  coming  to  an  anchor.  But  some  of  the  sailors  going  on 
shore  found  a  poor  hermit,  whose  cell  was  furnished  with  an  ill-contrived 
altar,  some  images  badly  carved,  and  a  crucifix ;  and  this  man  appeared 
to  be  the  only  inhabitant  of  the  place.  Quitting  this  group,  they  sailed 
toward  the  line,  being  sometimes  tossed  by  tempests,  and  at  others  quite 
becalmed.  They  saw  numbers  of  dolphins,  bonitos,  and  flying  fish,  which 
being  pursued  by  the  sharks,  frequently  flew  out  of  the  water,  and  their 
fins  drying,  they  dropped  on  the  ships,  and  were  unable  to  rise  again. 

Having  passed  the  line,  they  at  length  discovered  the  coast  of  Brazil  on 
the  5th  of  April,  being  fifty-four  days  since  they  saw  land.     As  soon  as 


SIR  FRANCIS  DRAfcE.  8^ 

the  people  on  shore  saw  the  ships,  they  made  large  fires  in  different  parts, 
and  performed  various  ceremonies  to  prevail  on  the  gods  to  sink  the  ves- 
sels, or  at  least  to  prevent  their  landing.  On  the  7th,  in  a  storm  of  Li{2:ht- 
ning,  rain,  and  thunder,  they  lost  the  Christopher,  but  happily  met  with 
her  again  on  the  11th,  at  a  place  which  the  admiral  called  Cape  Joy, 
where'they  found  a  harbour  between  a  larye  rock  and  the  main,  in  which 
the  ships  rode  in  safety.  At  this  place  they  found  no  other  inhabitants 
but  herds  of  wild  deer,  but  the  sailors  discovered  the  print  of  human  feet 
in  the  sand.  .  The  air  was  mild,  and  the  soil  rich  and  fertile.  They 
killed  several  seals  on  the  rock,  which  they  found  to  be  wholesome  food, 
though  not  extremely  pleasant.  Having  taken  in  vvater,  tiiey  sailed  for 
the  great  River  Plate  ;  where,  finding  no  good  harbour,  they  put  to  sea 
again,  and  came  to  a  good  bay,  in  which  were  several  islands  stocked 
with  seals  and  fowls,  and  abbunding  in  fresh  water.  The  admiral  going 
on  shore,  the  natives  caine  leaping  and  dancing  about  him,  and  seemed 
cAtreniely  willing  to  trade,  but  would  touch  nothing  but  what  was  first 
thrown  down  on  the  ground. 

The  Marigold  and  the  Christopher,  having  been  sent  to  discover  a  con- 
venient harbour,  returned  with  the  agreeable  news  that  they  had  found 
one,  whereupon  all  the  fleet  sailed  thither.  The  admiral,  having  no  far- 
ther use  for  the  Swan,  ordered  her  to  be  burnt,  having  first  divided  her 
provisions  and  iron  work  among  the  rest  of  the  fleet.  While  they  were 
employed  on  shore,  the  natives  came  to  them  without  fear ;  they  had  a 
covering  made  of  wild  beasts'  skins  about  the  middle,  wore  something 
wrapped  round  their  heads,  and  had  their  faces  and  bodies  painted.  They 
had  bows  of  an  ell  long,  and  two  arrows  each.  Two  of  them  being  plea- 
6ed,wilh  the  admiral's  hat,  snatched  it  of  his  head,  and  ran  away  with  it, 
dividing  the  prize  between  them,  one  taking  the  hat  and  the  other  the  lace. 

Sailing  hence,  they  anchored  in  port  St.  Julian,  which  name  was  given 
it  by  Magellan,  where,  the  admiral  going  on  shore  with  six  of  his  men, 
some  of  the  natives  slew  the  gunner,  whose  death  was  revenged  by  the 
commander,  who  killed  tlie  murderer  vrkh  his  own  hand.  At  this  place 
Magellan  having  executed  one  of  his  company  who  conspired  against  his 
life,  Drake  caused  one  of  the  crew  named  JDoughty  to  be  tried  for  the 
the  same  offence  against  himself ;  and  executed  him  on  the  same  gibbet. 

On  the  17th  of  August  they  left  the  port  of  St.  Julian,  and  on  the  20th 
fell  in  with  the  strait  of  Magellan,  which  they  entered  on  the  21st,  but 
found  so  full  of  intricate  turnings  and  windings,  that  the  same  wind  which 
was  sometimes  in  their  favour,  was  at  others  against  them.  This  pas- 
sage is  dangerous,  for  though  there  is  several  good  harbours  and  plenty 
of  fresh  water,  yet  the  depth  of  the  sea  is  so  groat,  that  there  is  no  an- 
choring except  in  some  very  narrow  river,  or  between  the  rocks.  On 
both  sides  are  vast  mountains  covered  with  snow  to  a  piodlgious  height 
above  the  clouds,  notwithstanding  which  the  trees  and  plants  near  the 
chore  maintain  a  constant  verdure.  The  breadth  of  the  strait  is  from  one 
league  to  four,  and  the  tides  rise  high  from  one  end  to  the  other.  After 
several  difliculties  they  entered  the  South  Sea  on  the  6th  of  September, 
and  on  the  next  day  a  violent  storm  drove  them  two  hundred  leagues 
south  of  the  strait,  where  they  anchored  among  some  islands,  abounding 
in  water  and  excellent  herbs.  On  the  3d  of  October  discovered  three 
islands,  on  one  of  which  was  a  most  incredible  number  of  birds  ;  and  on 
the  8th,  in  a  storm,  lost  tiic  Elizabeth,  Captain  Winter,  who,  being  driven 
back  into  the  strait,  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  and  afterward  arii».iJ  safe  in  England. 


40  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLt). 

Being  now  arrived  at  the  other  mouth  of  the  strait,  they  steered  fot 
the  coast  of  Chili,  and  on  the  29th  of  November  cast  anchor  at  the  Island 
of  Mocha)  were  the  admiral,  with  ten  men,  went  on  shore.  The  inhabi- 
tants were  such  as  the  extreme  cruelty  of  the  Spaniards  had  obliged  to 
seek  a  refuge  here  ;  and  they  behaved  very  civilly,  giving  the  admiral 
two  fat  sheep  and  some  potatoes  in  exchange  for  some  trifling  presents. 
And  now  continuing  their  course  for  Chili,  they  met  an  Indian  in  a  canoej 
who,  mistaking  them  for  Spaniards,  informed  them  that  at  St.  Jago 
there  was  a  large  ship  laden  for  Peru.  The  admiral  rewarded  him  ibi 
his  intelligence,  whereupon  he  conducted  them  to  the  pla<*e  where  the 
ship  lay  at  anchor.  There  were  only  eight  Spaniards  and  three  negroes 
on  board,  who,  mistaking  them  for  friends,  welcomed  thcmby  beat  of 
drum,  and  invited  them  to  drink  Chili  wine.  Drake  accepted  the  invi- 
tation, and  going  on  board,  put  them  all  un^er  hatches,  except  one,  who, 
leaping  overboard,  swam  on  shore  to  give  notice  of  the  coming  of  the 
English  :  upon  which,  the  inhabitants  quitting  the  town,  the  admiral  se- 
cured his  prize,  and  then  going  on  shore,  rifled  the  town  and  chapel,  from 
which  he  took  a  silver  chalice,  and  other  articles.  They  also  found  in 
the  town  a  large  quantity  of  Chili  wine,  which  the  admiral  sent  onboard, 
and  then  steered  for  Lima,  the  capital  of  Peru,  having  first  discharged  all 
his  prisoners  except  one,  whom  he  kept  for  a  pilot.  Proceeding  to  sea, 
the  admiral  examined  the  valuts  of  the  booty  he  had  taken,  which  exceed- 
ed thirty-seven  thousand  Spanish  ducats  of  pure  gold  of  Baldivia :  con- 
tinuing their  course,  they  put  into  the  harbour  of  Coquimbo,  where  the 
admiral  sending  fourteen  men  on  shore  to  fetch  water,  the  Spaniards 
sent  three  hundred  horse  and  two  hundred  foot  to  attack  them  ;  but  the 
English,  making  a  good  retreat,  reached  their  vessels  with  the  lose  of  only 
ene  man,  who  was  shot ;  and  the  next  day,  the  admiral  ordering  some 
of  his  people  on  shore  to  bury  him,  the  Spaniards  displayed  a  flag  of  truce  ; 
but  the  sailors  doubting  their  sincerity,  returned  to  the  ships  as  soon  as 
they  had  buried  their  companion.  From  this  place  they  sailed  to  the 
port  of  Tarapaxa,  where  some  of  them,  going  ashore,  found  a  Spaniard 
Asleep,  with  eighteen  bars  of  sdver,  worth  four  thousand  Spanish  ducats, 
laying  by  his  side,  which  they  took  away  without  waking  him  ;  and  not 
far  from  the  same  place,  going  ashore  for  water,  they  met  a  Spaniard  and 
an  Indian  driving  eight  Peruvian  sheep,  each  sheep  having  on  his  back 
two  leather  bags,  and  each  bag  containing  fifty-two  pounds  weight  of 
very  fine  silver.  They  took  away  the  load,  and  permitted  the  Indian 
and  Spaniard  to  drive  on  the  sheep. 

Entering  the  port  of  Lima  on  the  13th  of  February,  they  found  twelve 
sail  of  ships  at  anchor  unguarded,  the  Crews  being  all  on  shore.  Exa- 
mining these  vessels,  they  found  a  chest  filled  with  rials  of  plate,  which, 
together  with  some  silks  and  linen,  they  made  prize  of;  but  having  intel- 
ligence that  a  rich  ship,  called  the  Cacafuego,  was  lately  sailed  from  that 
harbour  for  Paita,  th«  admiral  determined  to  follow  her,  but,  on  his  arri- 
val at  Paita,  found  she  had  sailed  for  Panama.  They  met  with  another 
prize,  however,  in  which,  besides  ropes  and  other  useful  tackling  for 
ships,  they  found  eighty  pounds  weight  of  gold,  and  a  crucifix  of  the 
same  metal,  adorned  with  emeralds  :  but  resolving  still  to  proceed  in 
search  of  the  Cacafuego,  the  admiral  promised  a  golden  chain,  which  he 
usually  wore  about  his  neck,  to  the  first  person  who  should  discover  her  ; 
which  fell  to  the  share  of  Mr.  John  Drake,  who  first  saw  her  about  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Having  come  up  with  the  chase  about  six 
o'clock,  they  gave  her  three  shots,  which  brought  away  the  mizzen-mast, 


SIR  FRANCIS  DRAKE.  41 

whereuf)on  they  boarded  her,  and  found  thirteen  chests  full  of  rials  of 
plate,  eighty  pounds  weight  of  gold,  a  quantity  of  jewels,  and  twenty-six 
tons  of  silver  in  bars. 

The  admiral  finding,  among  other  rich  pieces  of  plate,  two  large  silver 
bowls  gilt,  which  belonged  to  the  pilot,  told  him  he  must  have  one  of 
them,  which  the  pilot  readily  complied  with,  delivering  the  other  to  the 
admiral's  steward  at  the  same  time.  Continuing  their  course  to  the  west, 
they  met  with  a  ship  laden  with  linen  cloth,  china  dishes,  and  silks  ;  from 
the  owner  of  which,  aSpaniard,  who  was  then  on  board,  the  admiral  took 
a  falcon  of  massy  gold,  with  a  large  emerald  in  the  breast  of  it ;  after 
which,  they  seized  such  of  the  effects  as  they  choose,  and  dismissed  the 
vessel,  keeping  the  pilot  of  her  for  their  own  service.  This  pilot  con- 
ducted them  to  the  harbour  of  Guatulco,  in  which  town  he  said  there 
were  only  seventeen  Spaniards.  The  admiral  and  some  of  his  people 
going  on  shore,  entered  the  town,  and  proceeding  directly  to  the  hall  of 
justice,  found  a  court  sitting,  and  the  judge  ready  to  pass  sentence  on 
several  pdor  negroes,  who  were  accused  of  a  plot  to  fire  the  tovim.  But 
the  admiral  seized  every  person  present,  and  sent  them  on  board  his  ship  ; 
from  whence  he  compelled  the  judge  to  write  to  the  people  of  the  towri 
to  keep  at  a  distance,  and  not  attempt  to  make  any  resistance.  This 
being  done,  they  ransacked  the  place,  but  found  nothing  of  value,  except 
a  bushel  of  rials  of  plate  and  a  chain  of  gold  set  with  jewels,  which  an 
English  sailor  took  from  a  rich  Spaniard  who  was  flying  out  of  the  town. 

Mr  Drake  having  now  revenged  bothjhimself  and  his  country  on  the 
Spaniards,  began  to  think  of  the  best  way  of  returning  to  England.  To 
return  by  the  strait  of  Magellan  (and  as  yet  no  other  passage  had  been 
discovered)  would,  he  thought,  be  to  throw  himself  into  the  hands  of  the 
Spaniards  ;  he  therefore  determined  to  sail  westward  to  the  East  Indies, 
and  so  following  the  Portuguese  course,  to  return  home  by  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope.  But  wanting  wind,  he  was  obliged  to  sail  toward  the  north, 
in  which  course,  having  continued  at  least  six  hundred  leagues,  and  being 
got  into  forty-three  degrees  north  latitude,  they  found  it  intolerably  cold, 
upon  which  they  steered  southward,  into  thirty-eight  degrees  north  lati- 
tude, where  they  discovered  a  country,  which,  from  its  white  cliffs,  they 
called  New  Albion,  though  it  is  now  known  by  the  name  of  California. 

They  here  discovered  a  bay,  which  entering  with  a  favourable  gale,  they 
found  several  huts  by  the  water-side,  well  defended  from  the  severity  of 
the  weather.  The  men  go  quite  naked,  but  the  women  have  a  deer-skin 
over  their  shoulders,  and  round  their  waists  a  covering  of  bull-rushes, 
dressed  after  the  manner  of  hemp. 

These  people  bringing  the  admiral  a  present  of  feathers,  and  cauls 
of  net- work,  he  entertained  them  so  kindly  and  generously,  that  they 
were  extremely  pleased,  and  soon  afterward  sent  him  a  present  of  fea- 
thers and  bags  of  tobacco.  A  number  of  them  coming  to  deliver  it, 
gathered  themselves  together  at  the  top  of  a  small  hill,  from  the  highest 
point  of  which  one  harangued  the  admiral,  whose  tent  was  placed  at  the 
bottom  ;  when  the  speech  was  ended,  they  laid  down  their  arms,  and 
came  down,  offering  presents,  at  the  same  time  returning  what  the 
admiral  had  given  them. 

The  arrival  of  the  English  at  California  being  soon  known  throughout 
the  country,  two  persons,  in  the  character  of  ambassadors,  came  to  the 
admiral  and  informed  him,  in  the  best  manner  they  were  able,  that  their 
king  would  visit  him,  if  he  might  be  assured  of  coining  in  safety. 
Being  satisfied  in  this  point,  a  numerous  company  soon  apoearcd,  in  the 

4* 


42  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

front  of  which  was  a  very  comely  person,  bearing  a  kind  of  sceptre,  on 
which  hung  two  crowns,  and  three  chains  of  great  length.  The  chains 
were  made  of  bones,  and  the  crowns  of  net-work,  curiously  wrought  with 
feathers  of  various  colours. 

The  men  being  drawn  up  in  line-of-battle,  the  admiral  stood  ready  to 
receive  the  king  within  the  fences  of  his  tent.  The  company  having 
halted  at  a  distance,  the  sceptre-bearer  made  a  speech  half  an  hour  long, 
at  the  end  of  which  he  began  singing  and  dancing,  in  which  he  was 
followed  by  the  king  and  all  the  people,  who,  continuing  to  sing  and 
dance,  came  quite  up  to  the  tents  ;  when  sitting  down,  the  king  took  off 
his  crown  of  feathers,  placed  it  on  the  admiral's  head,  and  put  on  him 
the  other  ensigns  of  royalty  ;  and  he  also  made  him  a  solemn  tender  oi 
his  whole  kingdom  :  all  which  the  admiral  accepted,  in  the  name  of  the 
queen,  his  sovereign,  in  hopes  that  these  proceedings  might,  one  time 
or  other,  contribute  to  the  advantage  of  England. 

The  admiral  and  some  of  his  people  travelling  to  a  distance  up  the 
country,  saw  such  a  number  of  rabbits,  that  it  appeared  an  entire  war- 
ren :  they  also  saw  deer  in  such  plenty  as  to  run  a  thousand  in  a  herd. 
The  earth  of  the  country  seemed  to  promise  rich  veins  of  gold  and  silver, 
some  of  the  ore  being  constantly  found  upon  digging.  The  enterprising 
commander  at  his  departure  set  up  a  pillar  with  a  large  plate  on  it,  on 
which  was  engraved  her  majesty's  name,  picture,  arms,  and  title  to  the 
country,  together  with  his  own  name,  and  the  time  of  his  arrival  there. 

Sailing  from  this  hospitable  country,  they  lost  sight  of  land  till  the 
13th  of  October,  when  they  saw  the  Ladrone  islands,  from  v/hence  came 
off  a  great  number  of  small  vessels,  laden  with  cocoas  and  other  fruit. 
These  vessels  on  the  outside  were  smooth  and  shining,  like  burnished 
horn  ;  on  each  side  of  them  lay  two  pieces  of  wood,  and  th".  inside  was 
adorned  with  while  shells.  These  people  at  first  dealt  fairly,  but  soon 
began  to  steal  whatever  they  could  get  at,  refusing  to  give  up  whatever 
they  had  seized  ;  whereupon  the  English  determined  they  should  come  no 
more  oh  board,  which  so  enraged  them  that  they  began  to  flmg  stones  ; 
but  a  gun  being  fired,  they  leaped  into  the  water,  and  sheltered  themselves 
under  their  vessels,  till  the  ship  was  at  a  distance  ;  and  then  putting  their 
boats  right  in  the  water,  made  the  best  of  their  way  to  the  shore. 

They  came  to  other  islands,  which  appeared  to  be  very  populous,  on 
the  18th  ;  and  passed  by  the  islands  of  Tagulada,  Zewarra  and  Zelon, 
whose  inhabitants  were  friends  to  the  Portuguese.  The  first  of  these 
islands  produces  great  quantities  of  cinnamon. 

The  admiral  held  on  his  course  without  delay,  and  on  the  4th  of  No- 
vember, fell  in  with  the  Moluccas,  and  proposuig  to  sail  for  Tirridore, 
coasted  along  the  Island  of  Mutyr,  which  belongs  to  the  Kmg  of  Ternate, 
but  in  the  way  met  his  viceroy,  who,  seeing  the  admiral's  ship,  went  on 
board  without  fear,  and  advised  him  not  to  go  to  Tirridore,  but  sail  di- 
rectly for  Ternate,  because  his  master,  who  was  an  enemy  to  the  Portu- 
guese, would  not  deal  with  him,  if  he  had  any  concerns  w^ith  the  people 
of  Tirridore,  or  the  Portuguese  who  were  settled  there.  Hearing  this, 
the  commander  steered  for  Ternate,  and  coming  to  an  anchor  before 
the  town  early  the  next  morning,  his  firtt  step  was  to  send  a  messenger 
to  the  king,  with  a  velvet  cloak,  as  a  present,  and  to  assure  him  that  his 
only  design  in  coming  thither  was  to  exchange  his  merchandise  for  such 
provisions  as  the  island  afforded.  His  majesty  returned  a  kind  answer 
to  the  admiral,  assuring  him  that  a  friendly  correspondence  with  the 
English  would  be  highly  agreeable  to  him  ;  that  they  were  welcome  to 


! 


SIR  FRANCIS  DRAKE.  43 

the  produce  of  his  kingdom,  which,  together  with  himself,  he  should  be 
proud  to  lay  at  the  feet  of  his  royal  mistress,  and  acknowledged  her  for 
his  sovereign. 

The  king  having  determined  to  visit  the  admiral  on  board  his  ship, 
sent  a  number  of  his  most  considerable  people  in  four  large  pleasure- 
barges,  who  sat  under  a  large  canopy  of  perfumed  mats,  which  reached 
from  one  end  of  the  vessel  to  the  other,  and  was  supported  by  a  frame 
made  of  reeds.  They  were  all  dressed  in  white,  and  attended  by  a 
number  of  servants  clothed  in  the  same  colour,  behind  whom  stood  se- 
veral ranks  of  soldiers,  and  on  each  side  of  the  vessel  were  the  rowers, 
in  three  galleries,  one  above  another.  The  soldiers  were  furnished  with 
warlike  instruments  of  various  kinds,  and  well  accoutred. 

The  admiral  having  made  the  king  and  his  principal  people  some  valu- 
able presents,  his  majesty  took  his  leave,  promising  to  come  on  board 
again  the  next  day  ;  and  that  evening  sent  him  a  quantity  of  rice,  fowls, 
fruit,  sugar,  and  other  provisions.  The  king  did  not  go  aboard  the  next 
morning,  but  sent  his  brother  and  the  viceroy  to  invite  Drake  on  shore, 
while  they  were  to  remain  on  board  as  hostages  for  his  safe  return. 
The  admiral  did  not  think  proper  to  accept  the  invitation,  but  sent  some 
of  his  officers  on  shore,  detaining  only  the  viceroy  till  they  came  back. 
They  were  received  on  their  landing  by  another  of  the  king's  brothers, 
and  several  persons  of  quality,  and  conducted  to  the  castle  in  great  state, 
where  they  found  a  court  of  at  least  a  thousand  persons,  the  chief  of 
whom  were  sixty  elderly  men,  who  formed  the  council,  and  four 
envoys  from  Arabia,  in  scarlet  robes  and  turbans,  who  were  there  to  ne- 
gotiate matters  of  trade  between  Muscat  and  Teraate.  The  king  came 
in,  guarded  by  twelve  persons  bearing  lances,  while  a  large  canopy  of 
gold  cloth  was  borne  over  his  head.  He  was  covered  with  a  gold  tissue  ; 
in  his  hair  were  fastened  a  number  of  gold  rings  by  way  of  ornament, 
and  a  large  chain  of  the  same  metal  hung  round  his  neck  ;  his  legs  were 
uncovered,  but  he  wore  shoes  of  a  kind  of  red  leather,  and  several  rings 
set  with  jewels  on  his  fingers.  He  spoke  to  the  English  gentlemen  with 
great  kindness,  and  sent  one  of  his  council  to  conduct'them  back  to  the 
ship.  He  is  a  powerful  prince,  having  the  government  of  seventy 
islands,  besides  Ternate,  which  is  the  chief  of  the  Moluccas.  The 
religion  of  the  country  is  Mahometanism. 

Mr.*Drake  having  despatched  all  his  business  at  Ternate,  weighed 
anchor,  and  sailed  to  a  little  inland  south  of  Celebes,  or  Macassar,  where 
they  staid  twenty-six  days,  in  order  to  repair  the  iron  work  of  the  ship. 
In  this  island  are  bats  as  big  as  hens,  and  a  sort  of  land  cray-fish,  which 
dig  holes  in  the  earth  like  rabbits,  and  are  so  large,  that  one  of  them  is 
sufficient  to  dine  four  persons.  Here  they  observed  a  sort  of  sliining 
flies  in  great  multitudes,  which,  flying  up  and  down  between  the  trees 
and  bushes  in  the  night,  make  them  appear  as  if  they  were  on  fire. 
The  whole  island  is  covered  with  trees,  very  high  and  straight,  without 
boughs,  except  at  the  top,  the  leaves  of  which  are  like  EngUsh  broom. 

Setting  sail  hence,  they  ran  among  a  number  of  small  islands,  and  the 
wind  shifting  about  suddenly,  drove  them  upon  a  rock,  at  eight  in  the 
evening  of  the  9ih  of  January,  1579,  and  stuck  fast  till  four  in  the 
afiernocn  of  the  next  day.  In  this  extremity  they  lightened  the  vessel, 
by  taking  out  eight  pieces  of  ordnance,  some  provisions,  and  three  tons 
of  cloves  ;  and  the  wind  as  suddenly  changing  again,  they  made  sail,  and 
happily  got  off.  On  the  8th  of  February,  they  fell  in  with  the  fruitful 
Island  of  I3aretene,  the  people  of  which  have  very  comely  persons  ;  and 


44  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

their  punctuality  in  all  their  dealings,  and  civil  and  courteous  behaviour 
to  strangers,  is  very  extraordinary.  The  men  have  a  covering  for  their 
heads,  and  another  round  their  waist,  and  the  women  are  clothed  from  the 
middle  to  the  feet,  besides  which,  they  load  their  arms  with  eight  bracelets, 
made  of  bone,  brass,  or  horn,  the  least  of  which  weighs  two  ounces. 

Leaving  Baretene,  they  sailed  for  Java  Major,  where  they  met  with 
courteous  and  honourable  entertainment.  The  island  is  governed  by 
five  kings,  who  live  in  perfect  friendship  with  each  other.  They  had 
once  four  of  their  majesties  on  ship-board  at  a  time,  and  the  company  of 
two  or  three  of  them  very  often.  The  people  of  Java  are  stotit,  active, 
warhke,  and  go  well  armed  with  daggers,  swords,  and  targets,  of  their 
own  manufacture,  and  very  curious.  Their  sociableness  is  such  that 
in  each  village  they  have  a  public  house,  to  which  each  person  carries 
such  provision  as  he  has  ;  and  here  they  daily  join  to  make  a  feast,  for 
the  promotion  of  good  fellowship.  They  have  a  method  of  boiling  rice 
peculiar  to  themselves  ;  first  putting  it  into  an  earthen  pot,  in  the  figure 
of  a  sugar  loaf,  open  at  the  greater  end,  and  perforated  all  over  ;  and 
fixing  this. in  a  large  earthen  pot  full  of  boiling  water,  the  rice  swells 
and  fills  the  holes  of  the  pot,  so  that  only  a  small  quantity  of  water  can 
enter.  By  this  method  the  rice  is  brought  to  a  firm  consistence,  and  at 
length  caked  into  a  sort  of  bread,  which,  with  butter,  oil,  sugar,  and 
spices,  makes  a  very  pleasant  food. 

They  sailed  from  hence  on  the  26th  of  Mardh  ;  on  the  18th  of  June 
they  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  on  the  22d  of  July  arrived  at 
Sierra  Leone,  on  the  coast  of  Guinea,  where  they  found  a  great  number 
of  elephants,  and  saw  trees  on  the  shore  with  oysters  hanging  to  them, 
on  which  they  lived  and  multiplied.  They  also  found  lemons  in  plenty, 
with  which,  and  the  oysters,  all  the  crew  were  greatly  refreshed  after 
their  fatigue  ;  having  put  in  at  no  place  since  they  left  Java.  They 
stayed  here  two  days,  taking  in  wood,  water,  and  refreshments,  when 
sailing  homeward,  they  were  off  the  Canaries  on  the  26th  ;  but,  being 
in  no  want  of  provisions,  held  on  their  course  for  Plymouth,  and  arrived 
on  Monday,  the  26th  of  September,  1580  ;  but,  according  to  their  own 
reckoning,  on  Sunday  the  25th  ;  having  gone  round  the  world  in  two 
years,  ten  months,  and  a  few  days. 

On  the  4th  of  April,  1581,  Queen  Elizabeth  dined  on  board  Admiral 
Drake's  ship  at  Deptford  ;  and,  after  dinner,  conferred  on  him  thje  ho- 
nour of  knighthood,  telling  him,  at  the  same  time,  that  his  actions  did 
him  more  honour  than  his  title.  His  ship  was  preserved  many  years, 
and  when  she  became  decayed,  a  chair  was  made  from  some  small  remains 
of  it,  which  is  still  shown  as  a  curiosity  at  Oxford.  By  this  voyage 
England  acquired  the  honour  of  having  the  first  commander-in-chief 
who  had  sailed  round  the  world,  Magellan  having  been  killed  on  his 
voyage,  as  before  related. 


SIR  THOMAS  CAVENDISH.— 1586-88. 

Thomas  Cavendish,  of  Tremley,  in  the  County  of  Suffolk,, esquire,  wai 
a  gentleman  of  a  cQnsiderable  family,  and  possessed  a  large  estate  near 
Ipswich.  He  had  an  early  inclination  to  the  sea,  which  he  indulged  on 
his  coming  of  age,  by  converting  part  of  his  estate  into  money,  with 
which  he  fitted  out  a  stout  vessel,  of  120  tons  burihen,  called  the  Tyger, 
and  in  which  he  accompanied  Sir  Richard  Greenville  in  his  voyage  to 


"% 


SIR  THOMAS  CAVENDISH.  41 

Virginia,  in.  1585  ;  and  having  encountered  many  dangers  and  difficul- 
ties, without  any  advantage,  returned  safe  to  Falnaouth  on  the  6th  of 
October  in  the  same  year. 

In  this  voyage  having  seen  a  great  part  of  the  Spanish  West  Indies, 
and  had  an  opportunity  of  conversing  with  several  persons  who  had  sailed 
through  the  South  Seas  with  Sir  Francis  Drake,  who  was  by  this  time 
raised  to  the  head  of  his  profession,  he  became  emulous  of  attempting  a 
like  adventure  ;  and,  therefore,  as  soon  as  he  returned  home,  sold  or 
mortgaged  a  part  of  his  estate  to  laise  money  for  equipping  two  ships 
proper  for  the  expedition.  So  intent  was  he  on  the  business,  that  in  less 
than  a  month  his  carpenters  began  to  work  on  the  large  vessel ;  and  his 
little  squadron  was  entirely  completed  and  properly  furnished  in  less  than 
half  a  year. 

Having  provided  such  sea  charts,  maps,  draughts,  and  accounts  of  for- 
mer voyages  as  could  be  procured  ;  and  having,  by  means  of  his  patron, 
Lord  Hunsdon,  then  lord  chamberlain,  obtained  a  commission  from 
Queen  Elizabeth,  he  embarked  at  Harwich,  on  the  lOih  of  July,  15S6, 
on  board  the  largest  ship,  called  the  Desire,  burthen  140  tons,  having 
w:ith  him  the  Content,  burthen  GO  tons,  and  a  bark,  called  the  Hugh 
Gallant,  of  40  tons,  well  supplied,  at  his  own  expense,  with  provisions 
for  two  years,  and  manned  with  126  officers  and  sailors. 

From  this  port  he  steered  to  Plymouth,  whence  he  sailed  agam  on  the 
25lh,  and  on  the  next  day  fell  in  with  eight  ships  from  Biscay,  one  of 
which  attacked  the  admiral,  but  meeting  with  a  warm  reception,  sheer- 
ed off. 

On  the  5th  of  August,  they  fell  in  with  the  Island  of  Forteventura, 
from  which  they  continued  their  voyage  to  Cape  Blanco,  on  the  coast 
of  Guinea,  by  which  time  the  officers  and  men  beginning  to  complain 
much  of  the  scurvy,  it  was  determined  to  put  them  on  shore  as  soon  as 
opportunity  offered.  On  the  ^5ih,  fell  in  with  the  south  side  of  Sierra 
Leone,  where,  going  on  shorej-  they  destroyed  a  negro  town ;  while  a 
negro  killed  one  of  their  men  with  a  poisoned  arrow.  On  the  3d  of 
September  their  boat  went  four  miles  up  the  harbour,  and  procured  a 
great  many  lemons,  caught  a  large  quantity  of  fish,  and  on  their  return 
saw  a  great  number  of  buffaloes.  Quitting  the  harbour  of  Sierra  Leone 
on  the  6th  of  September,  they  anchored  next  day  at  two  miles  distance 
from  one  of  the  Cape  de  Verd  islands,  where,  going  on  shore,  they  found 
an  Indian  town  deserted  by  its  inhabitants,  who  had  left  a  considerable 
quantity  of  provisions  behind. 

I'hcy  departed  from  this  island  on  the  10th,  and,  on  the  last  day  of 
October,  sailing  W.  S.  W.  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  discovered  a  moun- 
tain with  a  high  round  summit,  which  at  a  distance  resembled  a  town. 
On  the  1st  of  November,  sailed  in  between  the  town  of  St.  Sebastian 
and  the  main  land,  and,  going  on  shore,  employed  themselves  till  the  23d 
of  the  month  in  erecting  a  forge,  building  a  pinnace,  and  repairing  the 
damages  of  their  ships.  They  reached  a  harbour  on  the  coast  of  South 
America  on  the  27th  of  November,  which  the  admiral,  entering  first, 
called  Port  Desire,  from  the  name  of  his  ship.  Near  this  harbour,  which 
is  very  convenient,  they  found  a  great  quantity  of  seals  and  gray  gulls- 
Going  on  shore,  the  savages  wounded  two  of  the  sailors  with  their  arrows, 
which  were  made  of  canes,  and  headed  with  flints.  These  people  were 
of  a  prodigious  stature,  the  length  of  one  of  their  feet  being  eighteen 
inches,  and  their  height  seven  feet  or  better.  When  one  of  them  dies, 
he  is  buried  in  a  tomb  formed  of  stones,  by  the  sea-side,  and  a  number 


46  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

of  shells  laid  under  his  head.  When  the  admiral  left  the  place,  he  called 
them  Patagonians,  and  the  account  of  them  agrees  tolerably  well  with 
that  of  Magellan. 

Leaving  Port  Desire  on  the  28th  of  December,  and  continuing  a  course 
S.  W.  and  by  S.,  they  fell  in  with  a  great  cape  on  the  3d  of  January, 
which  reaches  to  the  opening  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  Anchoring 
under  this  cape,  a  violent  storm  arose,  which  lasted  three  days ;  they  part- 
ed from  their  cable,  and  on  the  Gth  entered  the  straits,  which  were  in 
some  places  very  narrow,  and  in  others  five  or  six  leagues  wide.  On 
the  next  day  they  met  with  a  Spaniard,  who  informed  them  there  were 
twenty-two  more  of  the  same  nation  in  the  vicinity,  being  all  that  remain- 
ed of  four  hundred,  who  had  been  left  there  three  years  before.  On  the 
8th  they  anchored  at  Penguin  Island,  so  called  from  that  bird,  great  num- 
bers of  which  were  killed  and  salted  ;  and  next  sailed  south  and  south- 
west, to  a  place  built  by  ihc  Spaniards,  called  Cividad  del  Rey  Felippe,  or 
King  Philip's  City,  which  had  four  forts  or  bastions,  each  fort  having  one 
piece  of  cannon,  which  had  been  buried,  and  the  carriages  left  standing. 

They  sailed  hence  through  several  channels,  frequently  steering  diffe- 
rent courses  to  the  mouth  of  the  straits  opening  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
which,  owing  to  the  contrary  winds  and  the  badness  of  the  weather,  they 
did  not  reach  till  the  23d  of  February.  On  the  24th  they  entered  the 
South  Sea ;  and,  on  the  1st  of  March,  in  a  gieat  storm  at  night,  parted 
from  the  Hugh  Gallant,  about  45  leagues  from  land,  and  in  49  degrees 
south  latitude.  The  storm  continued  about  three  days,  during  wliich 
this  vessel  sprung  a  leak,  and  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  the  men 
could  keep  her  from  sinking  ;  but,  on  the  15th,  in  the  morning,  she  met 
the  other  ships  between  the  Island  of  St.  Mary  and  the  main  land.  '  The 
admiral  and  the  Content  had  secured  themselves  two  days  during  the 
violence  of  the  storm,  at  the  Isle  of  Mocha,  in  38  degrees  south  latitude, 
where  some  of  the  company  going  on  shore,  well  armed,  were  attacked 
by  the  Indians  armed  with  bows  and  arrows. 

On  the  16th  the  admiral  went  on  shore,  attended  by  eighty  men,  well 
armed,  and  were  met  by  two  Indians,  who  treated  them  with  great  respect,  • 
and  conducted  them  to  a  chapel  built  by  the  Spaniards,  near  which  were 
many  store-houses  filled  with  wheat  and  barley,  equal  in  goodness  to 
that  of  England.  Cavendish  invited  the  two  Indians  on  board,  who, 
after  some  time,  perceiving  they  were  not  among  Spaniards,  began  to  talk 
much  about  the  gold  mines,  intimating,  by  signs,  that  if  they  would  go 
across  the  country  to  Aranco,  they  might  furnish  themselves  with  as  much 
of  that  metal  as  they  pleased.  But  this  the  admiral  did  not  think  fit  to 
do,  and  having  supplied  himself  with  a  good  stock  of  com,  hogs,  fowls, 
potatoes,  and  dried  dog-fish,  determined  to  continue  his  voyage. 

They  left  this  place  on  the  18th,  and  next  day  anchored  at  an  island 
called  the  Conception  ;  sailing  thence,  they  came  to  the  Bay  of  Quintero 
on  the  30th,  and,  on  the  last  of  the  month,  fifty  men,  well  armed,  marched 
several  miles  up  the  countr}',  which  they  found  well  stocked  with  wild 
cattle,  horses,  dogs,  hares,  rabbits,  and  partridges  ;  they  also  saw  seve- 
ral rivers,  near  which  were  great  quantities  of  wild  fowl.  Having  pro- 
ceeded as  far  as.  the  mountains,  they  refreshed  themselves  on  the  banks 
of  a  pleasant  river,  and  returned  to  their  ships  at  night.  A  party  of  two 
hundred  Spanish  horse  were  in  pursuit  of  the  detachment  that  day,  but 
being  seen,  would  not  venture  to  attack  them  ;  however,  on  the  1st  of 
April,  while  the  English  were  on  shore  filling  water,  the  Spaniards  poured 
down  two  hundred  cavalry  from  the  hills  upon  them,  who  killed  several, 


SIR  THOMAS  CAVENDISH.  47 

and  took  a  few  prisoners  ;  but  a  reinforcement  of  fifteen  English  coming 
up,  rescued  their  companions,  killed  twenty-four  of  the  Spaniards,  and 
drove  the  rest  to  the  mountains.  After  this  they  continued  taking  in 
water  unmolested  for  four  days,  and  then  put  oif  to  an  island  at  the  dis- 
tance of  a  league,  abounding  with  penguins  and  other  fowl,  with  which 
having  plentifully  stocked  the  ships,  they  continued  their  voyage  north-west. 

On  the  15th  they  arrived  at  an  excellent  harbour  called  Moro-Moreno,  so 
formed  by  the  situation  of  an  island  as  to  admit  a  ship  at  either  end.  At 
this  place  the  admiral  went  on  shore  with  thirty  men,  and  was  plentifully 
supplied  with  wood  and  water  by  the  Indians,  who  brought  it  on  their  backs. 
These  harmless  people  lived  in  a  very  wild  manner,  though  kept  greatly 
in  subjection  by  the  Spaniards.  They  conducted  the  admiral  and  his  party 
to  their  houses,  which  were  about  two  miles  from  the  harbour,  composed 
of  two  or  three  forked  sticks  stuck  in  the  ground,  a  few  rafters  being  laid 
across  from  one  to  the  other,  and  the  whole  covered  with  boughs.  They 
subsisted  on  stinking  fish,  and  their  beds  were  the  skins  of  wild  beasts 
spread  on  the  floor. 

Leaving  Moro-Moreno,  they  proceeded  till  tho  third  of  May,  and  then 
anchored  in  a  bay  near  three  small  towns,  in  about  13  degrees  south  lati- 
tude, called  Pi&ca,  Chincha,  and  Paracca,  where,  going  on  shore  at  the 
former,  they  found  some  houses  deserted  by  the  inhabitants.  Here  they 
supplied  themselves  with  wine,  bread,  figs,  and  poultry  ;  but  the  sea  ran 
so  high  they  could  not  get  on  shore  at  Paracca,  which  was  the  prhicipal 
place.  They  also  found  here  two  ships  laden  with  sugar,  molasses,  maize, 
cordovan  skins,  and  other  effects,  out  of  which  they  took  what  they  chose, 
put  the  people  on  shore,  and  burnt  the  vessels.  It  was  judged  that  the 
cargo  of  one  of  these  ships  would  havo  yielded  them  twenty  thousand 
pounds,  had  a  proper  market  for  it  been  at  hand. 

Sailing  hence,  they  came,  on  the  26th,  to  the  road  of  Paita,  the  town  of 
which  name  is  a  neat  well-built  place,  containing  about  two  hundred 
houses.  The  admiral  landing  with  seventy  men,  drove  the  inhabitants  to 
.the  hills,  from  whence  they  fired  small  shot  upon  his  party,  but  the  Spa- 
niards would  not  come  to  close  quarters  ;  whereupon  the  English,  having 
possessed  themselves  of  the  town,  marched  in  pursuit  up  the  hills,  com- 
pletely routed  them,  and  brought  back  considerable  property,  which  they 
had  liid  among  the  mountains.  Having  seized  twenty-five  pounds  weight 
of  silver,  in  pieces  of  eight,  they  set  fire  to  the  town,  and  to  a  vessel 
which  lay  in  the  harbour,  embarking  while  the  place  was  in  flames. 

Sailing  hence  to  Puna,  an  island  in  one  degree  south  latitude,  they 
found  a  ship  of  250  tons  burthen  in  the  harbour,  which  they  sunk,  and 
went  on  shore. 

The  cacique  having  removed  the  valuable  furniture  of  his  palace  and 
other  effects  to  a  neighbouring  island,  the  admiral  went  there  on  the  26ih, 
and  seizing  what  he  thought  proper,  had  it  conveyed  on  board  the  ships. 
They  also  burnt  the  church  and  took  away  five  of  the  bells.  The  English 
were  attacked  on  the  2d  of  June  by  a  hundred  Spaniards,  who,  with  the 
loss  of  forty-six  of  their  own  men,  killed  and  look  prisoners  about  twelve 
of  the  English  ;  but  seventy  sailors  going  on  shore  the  same  day,  at- 
tacked and  routed  one  hundred  Spaniards  armed  with  muskets,  and  two 
hundred  Indians  with  bows  and  arrows  ;  and  then,  destroying  their  or- 
chards, also  burnt  four  large  ships  upon  the  stocks,  together  with  the 
town,  which  consisted  of  three  hundred  houses,  which  was  reduced  to  a 
heap  of  rubbish. 

On  the  1st  of  July  gamed  a  sight  of  New  Spain  at  the  distance  of  foul 


48  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

leagues  from  land;  and  on  the  9th  took  anew  ship  of  120  tons,  which, 
haviijg  rifled,  and  taken  her  pilot,  one  Sancius,  and  the  crew  on  board, 
they  set  on  fire  ;  and  the  next  day  also  took  a  bark,  which  was  destined  to 
give  intelligence  of  their  arrival  along  the  coast. 

About  the  middle  of  August  the  admiral  and  thirty  men  went  in  the 
pinnace  to  Port  Nativity,  in  19  degrees  north  latitude,  where  Sancius, 
the  pilot  of  the  former  ship  they  had  taken,  informed  him  that  a  rich  prize 
would  be  found  ;  but,  before  their  arrival,  she  had  sailed  twelve  leagues 
farther  to  fish  for  pearls.  They,  however,  took  a  mulatto,  who  had  been 
sent  to  give  notice  of  their  arrival  along  the  coast  of  Neuva  Gallicia,  and 
having  burnt  the  town  of  Nativity,  with  two  vessels  of  two  hundred  tons 
burthen  on  the  stocks,  they  returned  to  their  ships.  On  the  26th.,  sailed 
into  the  Bay  of  St.  Jago,  where  having  watered,  caught  a  considerable 
quantity  of  fish,  and  taken  some  pearls,  they  left  it  on  the  2d  of  Septem- 
ber ;  next  day  sailed  a  league  to  the  westward  of  Port  Nativity,  into  the 
Bay  of  Malacca,  where  the  admiral  and  about  thirty  of  his  men  went  ashore 
to  a  little  Indian  town  called  Acatlan,  consisting  of  upward  of  twenty 
nouses  and  a  church,  to  which  they  set  fire,  and  went  on  board  again  in 
the  night.  This  bay  they  left  on  the  4th,  and  sailing  along  the  coast 
with  a  fair  wind,  arrived  in  the  road  of  Chacalla  four  days  afterward. 

On  the  day  after  their  arrival,  the  commander  sent  forty  men,  with  the 
pilot  (Sancius)  as  a  guide,  through  the  woods  into  the  country,  where  they 
found  a  few  Indian  and  Spanish  families,  and  one  of  Portuguese,  all  of 
whom  they  made  prisoners  and  carried  on  board  the  ships.  The  admiral 
employed  the  women  to  fetch  plantains,  lemons,  oranges,  and  other  fruit 
on  board  ;  and  as  a  reward  for  their  industry,  discharged  all  their  husbands 
except  Diego,  a  Portuguese,  and  Sembrano,  a  Spanish  carpenter.  On 
the  24th  entered  the  road  of  Massatlan,  which  lies  under  the  tropic  of 
Cancer,  where  they  found  plenty  of  fine  fish,  and  the  adjacent  country 
abounded  with  fruit.  They  left  it  again  on  the  27th,  putting  in  at  an 
island  a  league  to  the  northward,  where  they  cleaned  their  ships  and  new- 
built  their  pinnace.  Being  now  much  in  want  of  water,  one  Flores,  a 
Spanish  prisoner,  advised  them  to  dig  in  the  sand  to  the  depth  of  three 
feet,  where  they  found  a  sufficient  quantity  for  the  use  of  the  crew. 

They  sailed  from  this  island  on  the  9th  of  October,  and  on  the  I4th 
fell  in  with  Cape  St.  Lucar,  on  the  west  point  of  Cahfornia,  a  place  which, 
as  Sir  Francis  Drake's  people  had  observed  before,  exactly  resembles  the 
Needles  at  the  Isle  of  Wight.  A  fine  bay,  called  by  the  Spaniards  Agu- 
ada  Segura,  the  banks  of  which  are  inhabited  by  a  great  number  of  In- 
dians during  the  summer  season,  is  situated  within  this  cape.  At  this 
place  they  watered,  and  waited  for  the  Acapulco  ship  till  the  4th  of 
November,  on  which  day,  in  the  morning,  one  of  the  admiral's  crew,  going 
tip  the  topmast-head,  saw  a  vessel  coming  in  from  the  sea,  on  which  he 
cried  out,  "  A  sail !  a  sail !" 

Everything  being  immediately  prepared,  the  admiral  chased  her  nearly 
four  hours,  when  coming  up  he  saluted  her  with  a  broadside  and  a  volley 
of  small  shot.  She  appeared  to  be  the  St.  Anne,  a  Spanish  vessel  of  700 
tons  burthen ;  some  of  the  admiral's  people  immediately  boarding  her, 
found  the  crew  provided  vsrith  javelins,  targets,  and  great  stones,  with 
which  the  Spaniards  attacked  the  Enghsh  and  forced  them  to  retire,  with 
the  loss  of  two  men  killed  and  several  wounded.  The  admiral  now  gave 
them  a  second  salute  with  his  great  and  small  arms,  by  which  a  great 
number  were  killed,  but  they  still  continued  fighting,  till  a  third  broadside 
obliged  them  to  yield  or  sink  ;  whereupon  they  flung,  out  a  flag  of  truce. 


SIR  THOMAS  CAVENDISH,  49 

strack  their  sails,  and  the  captain,  pilot,  and  a  principal  merchant  came  or 
board  the  admiral.  The  prize  contained  one  hundred  and  twenty-tw« 
thousand  pezoes  of  gold,  besides  great  quantities  of  rich  silks,  satins, 
damask,  musk,  and  a  good  stock  of  provisions. 

Having  obtained  this  rich  booty,  ihey  put  into  the  harbour  of  Puerto 
Seguro  on  the  6th  of  November,  where  the  admiral  set  all  the  prisoners 
on  shore,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and  fifty,  giving  them  wine,  pro- 
visions, and  the  sails  of  their  ship,  with  planks  to  build  houses.  The 
captors  now  began  to  divide  the  booty,  when  the  avarice  of  some  of  the 
sailors  caused  a  considerable  disturbance,  which  threatened  a  mutiny, 
but  the  candid  and  generous  behaviour  of  Cavendish  at  length  compro- 
mised all  differences.  Of  the  prisoners  of  the  St.  Anne  were  reserved 
two  Japanese  boys,  three  that  w«re  born  on  the  Island  of  Manilla,  a 
Portuguese  who  had  visited  China  and  Japan,  and  a  Spanish  pilot,  who 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  seas  between  Acapulco  and  New  Spain, 
■and  the  Ladrone  islands. 

On  the  19lh  of  November,  the  admiral  havmg  made  a  present  to  the 
captain  of  the  St.  Anne,  put  him  on  shore  with  arms  to  defend  himself 
against  the  Indians,  and  then  burnt  the  ship,  with  five  hundred  tons  of 
goods  in  her,  waiting  till  he  saw  her  destroyed  quite  down  to  the  edge  of 
the  water.  This  being  done,  they  proposed  to  sail  for  England  ;  and  at 
this  time  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  the  Content,  which  remaining  behind 
some  little  time  in  the  road,  they  sailed  out,  expecting  she  would  follow, 
but  they  never  saw  her  again. 

They  however  directed  their  course  to  the  Ladrones,  which  held  thera 
till  the  3d  of  January,  when,  early  in  the  morning,  they  had  sight  of  one 
of  the  cluster  called  Guam.  Sailing  on.  with  a  gentle  wind,  they  came 
v/ithin  two  leagues  of  the  island,  when  sixty  or  seventy  canoes,  filled 
with  savages,  came  off  to  the  ships,  bringing  fresh  fish,  cocoas,  plantains, 
and  potatoes,  to  exchange  vrith  the  sailors,  who  gave  them  pieces  of  old 
iron  in  return.  The  bits  of  iron  they  fastened  to  cords  and  fishing  hnes, 
which  they  threw  over  the  ship's  side  to  the  canoes,  and  received  back 
the  provisions  by  the  same  conveyance.  These  savages  crowded  about 
the  ship  in  such  a  manner,  that  two  of  their  canoes  were  broke  to  pieces, 
but  the  people  diving  escaped  unhurt ;  and  they  would  not  leave  the  ship, 
at  last,  till  some  small  arms  were  discharged.  They  were  very  lusty 
men,  of  a  tawny  colour,  remarkably  fat ;  most  of  them  wore  their  hair 
very  long,  but  some  tied  it  up  in  knots  on  the  crown  of  their  head. 

Their  canoes,  made  of  rafts  of  canes,  were  seven  or  eight  yards  in 
length  and  half  a  yard  in  breadth,  furnished  with  square  or  triangular 
sails  made  of  sedges,  both  head  and  stern  of  the  vessel  being  alike,  and 
sailing  equally  with  or  nearly  against  the  wind. 

Sailing  hence,  they  fell  in  with  the  headland  of  the  Philippine  islands, 
called  Caba  del  Spirito  Santo,  at  day-break,  on  the  l4th  of  January. 
The  island  is  large,  high  in  the  middle,  running  a  great  way  into  the  sea 
westward.  It  is  one  hundred  leagues  from  Guam,  and  sixty  from  Manilla, 
which  is  the  chief  of  the  Philippines,  and  inhabited  by  six  or  seven  hun- 
dred Spaniards.  The  place  has  no  great  strength,  but  is  immensely  rich 
in  gold  and  other  valuable  commodities.  It  has  a  constant  annual  cor- 
respondence with  Acapulco,  and  employs  twenty  or  thirty  ships  to  trade 
to  China  with  the  Sangneloes,  who  are  Chinese  merchants,  extreme  good 
mechanics,  and  the  best  embroiderers  in  silk  and  satin  in  the  world. 
The  people  of  Manilla  are  great  gainers  by  their  trade  with  the  Sangue- 

5 


50  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

loes,  who  send  great  quantities  of  golJ  thither,  and  exchange  it  for  aiJ 
equal  weight  of  silver. 

On  the  next  day  they  fell  in  with  the  -Island  of  Capul,  passing  a  very 
narrow  strait  "between  that  island  and  another.  Coming  to  an  anchor  in 
four  fathom  water,  within  a  cable's  length  of  the  shore,  a  canoe  came  up 
to  them,  in  which  was  one  of  the  seven  caciques,  who  are  joint  gover- 
nors of  the  island.  They  passed  for  Spaniards  with  these  people,  who 
brought  provisions,,  exchanging  a  quantity  of  potatoes,  or  four  cocoas  for 
a  yard  of  fine  cloth.  The  cacique  coming  on  board,  they  detained  him, 
and  desired,  by  signs,  that  he  would  send  for  his  six  brother  caciques  ; 
whereupon  the  servants,  who  managed  the  caiioe,  went  for  them,  and  they 
quickly  came  with  a  great  number  of  the  people  of  the  island,  bringing 
with  them  hogs,  poultry,  cocoas,  and  potatoes,  so  that  the  sailors  were 
fully  employed  in  exchanging,  which  they  did  at  the  Spanish  rate,  giving 
eight  rials  of  plate  for  a  hog,  and  one  for  a  fowl.  The  pilot,  whom  they 
took  on  board  the  St.  Anne,  having  laid  a  plot  to  betray  them  to  the 
Spaiiiards,  was  hanged  at  this  place. 

The  people  of  the  island  are  of  a  tawny  complexion,  go  almost  naked, 
worship  tlie  devil,  and  practise  the  rite  of  circumcision.  They,  as  wolf 
as  several  other  neighbouring  islands,  have  paid  tribute  to  the  English, 
on  a  supposition  that  they  were  Spaniards.  The  admiral  summoned  all 
the  caciques  on  the  23d,  and  acquainting  them  that  they  were  English, 
and  the  mortal  foes  of  the  Spaniards,  at  the  same  time  paying  them  in 
money  for  the  hogs  and  other  provisions  which  he  had  received  as  tribute. 
These  chiefs  much  admired  the  admiral's  generosity,  and  promised  to 
assist  him  with  all  their  forces,  if  he  would  make  war  upon  the  Spaniards. 
At  their  departure,  the  admiral  fired  a  gun,  in  compliment  to  his  visiters, 
after  they  had  several  times  rowed  round  his  ship  to  afford  him  diversion. 

On  the  next  morning,  June  the  24th,  they  set  sail,  steering  north-west 
by  several  islands,  where  the  Spaniards,  having  been  alarmed,  kept  fires 
and  a  strict  watch  all  night,  continually  discharging  their  pieces.  They 
passed  the  Island  of  Panama,  which  is  a  plain,  level  country,  abounding 
in  tall  trees,  proper  for  making  masts  of  ships,  and  having  several  mines 
of  fine  gold,  which  are  in  possession  of  the  Indians.  To  the  southward 
of  this,  in  nine  degrees  north  latitude,  lies  the  large  Island  of  Negro,  a 
low  and  fruitful  country,  where  the  natives  maintain  their  independency. 
At  six  in  the  morning,  on  the  29th  of  June,  they  j>assed  through  the  strait 
between  Panama  and  the  Negro  Island.  They  met  with  nothing  remark- 
able from  this  time  till  the  1st  of  March  following,  when,  having  passed 
the  straits  of  Java  Major  and  Minor,  they  came  to  an  anchor  on  the 
south-west  of  Java  Major,  where  they  saw  people  fishing  in  a  bay  under 
the  islandj  to  v.'hom  the  admiral  sent  out  a  boat  v/ith  a  negro  who  could 
speak  the  Malay  tongue,  which  is  much  used  at  Java ;  but  the  people 
being  frightened,  ran  away  to  the  woods.  One  of  them  afterward  ven- 
turing to  the  sea-side,  the  negro  told  him  it  was  expected  they  would 
find  fresh  water  for  the  use  of  the  ship,  and  desired  to  be  conducted  to 
the  king,  whom  having  found,  he  acquainted  him  that  the  admiral  was 
come  hither  to  traffic  for  provisions,  or  any  valuable  commodities  the 
island  afforded. 

On  the  13th,  ten  of  the  king's  canoes  came  off  to  the  admiral,  laden 
with  oxen,  hogs,  poultry,  geese,  eggs,  sugar,  cocoas,  plantains,  oranges, 
le.mons,  wine,  and  acqua  vitae.  Two  Portuguese  who  were  on  the  island 
came  on  board,  and  gave  them  a  full  account  of  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  inhabitants. 


u  OLIVER  VAN  NOOIIT.  61 

The  admiral  having  paid  for  the  provisions  they  brought,  sailed  on  the 
16ih  of  March  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  on  the  lllh  of  May  one 
of  the  company  spied  land,  bearing  north  and  north-wtst,  at  the  distance 
of  about  forty  leagues.  Being  becalmed  on  the  following  t\vo  days,  they 
could  not  get  near  enough  to  be  certain  what  land  it  was ;  but,  on  the 
14th,  found  it  to  be  Cape  Falso,  from  which  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
bears  west  and  by  south  at  near  fifty  leagues  distance.  On  the  16th 
they  saw  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  which,  by  their  reckoning,  appeared  to 
be  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  from  Java. 

On  the  8ih  of  June  they  came  within  sight  of  the  Island  of  St.  Helena, 
at  the  distance  of  eight  leagues  ;  but,  having  little  wind,  could  not  reach 
it  till  the  next  day,  when  they  came  to  an  anchor  near  the  shore,  in 
twelve  fathom  water.  Going  on  shore,  they  entered  the  church,  which 
was  hung  with  pointed  cloths,  having  an  altar  with  a  picture  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  and  the  story  of  the  crucifixion.  This  church  stands  in  a  valley 
so  filled  with  fruit  trees  and  excellent  plants  that  it  appears  like  a  vvell 
cultivated  garden,  adorned  with  long- lemon,  orange,  citron,  pomegranate, 
date,  and  tig  trees,  presenting  the  eye  with  blossoms,  and  green  and  ripe 
fruit  all  at  the  snme  time. 

Having  taken  on  board  what  necessaries  thoy  wanted,  they  sailed  for 
England  on  the  20th  of  June,  and  on  the  3d  of  September  met  with  a 
Flemish  vessel,  from  Lisbon,  by  which  they  learned  the  agreeable  news  of 
the  total  defeat  of  the  Spanish  Armada.  On  the  9ih  of  September,  after 
a  violent  storm,  which  carried  away  the  greater  part  of  their  sails,  they 
arrived  at  Plymouth,  from  which  they  had  been  absent  two  years  and 
something  less  than  two  months ;  and  soon  afterward  Mr.  Cavendish 
received  the  honour  of  knighthood  from  Queen  Ehzabeth. 


BY  OLIVER  VAN  NOOIIT. 
(being  the  first  attempted  by  the  dutch.)  15D8-1601. 

SEVER.iL  eminent  Dutch  merchants,  about  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1598,  formed  the  design  of  sending  some  stout  vessels  tiirough  the  straits 
of  Magellan,  to  cruise  on  the  Spaniards  in  the  South  Seas,  to  which  they 
were  chiefly  induced  by  the  reports  of  many  English  seamen,  who  had 
served  uiider  Drake,  Cavendish,  and  others.  As  the  success  of  the  en- 
terprise depended  in  a  great  measure  on  the  capacity  of  the  admiral, 
Oliver  Van  Noort,  a  native  of  Utrecht,  a  man  in  the  flower  of  his  age, 
was  pitched  upon  to  take  charge  of  the  expedition.  Two  stout  vessels, 
the  Maurice  and  the  Henry  Frederic,  and  two  yachts,  the  Concord  and 
the  Hope,  manned  by  two  hundred  and  forty-eight  persons,  v^ere  appointed 
for  this  service.  The  Maurice  was  commanded  by  Oliver  Van  Noort, 
admiral,  the  Henry  Frederic  by  James  Claasz,  vice-admiral,  the  Concord 
by  Peter  Van  Lint,  and  the  Hope  by  John  Huidecoope. 

The  Maurice  and  the  Concord  sailed  out  of  the  port  of  Gorce  oti  the 
13Lh  of  September,  1598,  and  being  joined  by  the  Henry  Frederic  ami 
the  Hope  from  Amsterdam,  they  continued  their  voyage  together  for 
Piymouth,  in  order  to  take  on  board  the  clothes  and  other  necessaries  of 
their  pilot,  Mr.  Mellish,  an  English  gentleman,  who  had  been  abroad 
before  with  Sir  Thomns  Cavendish. 

On  the  21st  they  left  Plymouth,  with  a  fresh  gale  at  north-east,  and 
ne.i:t  morning  missed  the  vice-admiral's  shallop,  with  sht  men  on  board  her, 


52  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

in  search  of  whom  they  began  to  entertain  thoughts  of  returning  to  Ply- 
mouth ;  but  meeting  with  an  English  privateer,  tliey  learned  that  the  fel- 
lows had  designedly  run  away  with  the  boat.  The  escape  of  these  fellows, 
however,  occasioned  some  rnurmurings  among  the  sailors,  whi<ih  were 
increased  the  next  day  by  the  vice-adrniral's  losing  his  other  shallop, 
which  he  had  in  low,  with  a  man  in  her. 

On  the  4th  of  October  they  met  with  a  fleet  of  English,  French,  and 
Dutch,  by  whorn  they  were  informed  of  a  dreadful  pestilence  which  had 
lately  destrovod  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  persons  on  the  coast  of 
Barbary.  On  the  4th  of  December  they  were  off  Cape  Palma,  and  on 
the  lOih  came  within  sight  of  Prince's  Island,  possessed  by  the  Portu- 
guese, in  one  deirrre  north  latitude,  and  sending  their  boats  on  shore, 
carried  a  flag  of  truce,  while  a  negro  with  some  Portuguese  met  them 
with  a  similar  token  of  peace.  The  Dutch  asked  for  a  supply  of  provi- 
sions, which  the  others  seemed  willing  to  grant ;  but,  while  they  were 
talking  on  this  subject,  a  number  of  persons,  who  had  lain  in  ambuscade, 
attacked  them  smiij.;aly,  and  killed  several,  among  whom  were  the  admi- 
ral's brother  and  Mr.  Mellish,  the  English  pilot.  It  was  determmed  in  a 
council  of  war  to  revenge  this  outrage  by  attacking  the  castle,  but  upon 
tiial  finding  themselves  unequal  to  this  business,  they  burnt  the  sugar 
houses,  and  having  taken  in  a  supply  of  fresh  water,  set  sail  on  the  17th 
for  Gonsalvo,  where  the  whids  blow  from  the  sea  in  the  day-time,  and 
from  the  land  at  night. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1589,  they  passed  the  Island  of  Annobon,  and 
on  the  5th  of  February  reached  Cape  St.  Thomas,  on  the  coast  of  Brazil, 
in  twenty-two  degrees  south  latitude.  On  the  9th  they  came  to  Rio 
Janeiro,  where  the  Portuguese  killed  several  of  the  crew.  From  Rio 
Janeiro  they  went  to  St.  Sebastian,  where  they  harboured  in  safety,  and 
met  with  plenty  of  wood  and  water.  On  the  14th  of  March  encountered 
a  violent  storm,  in  which  they  were  parted  from  the  vice-admiral  and  the 
Hope,  but  had  the  happiness  to  meet  again  three  days  afterward.  By 
this  time  winter  beginning  to  approach,  and  the  scurvy  making  so:ne 
havoc  among  them,  they  proposed  to  put  in  at  St.  Helena,  but  missing 
that  place,  were  driven  on  a  desolate  and  barren  island,  where  they  found 
no  provisions  but  a  few  fowls,  which  were  knocked  dovifn  with  sticks  ; 
they  therefore  put  to  sea  again,  and  on  the  Ist  of  June,  when  expecting 
to  have  reached  Ascension,  they  found  themselves  off  the  continent  of 
Brazil.  Tbc  Portuguese  not  permitting  them  to  land,  they  saded  to  the 
little  Island  of  St.  Clara,  about  a  mile  from  the  continent,  where  meeting 
with  some  herbs  and  a  kind  of  sour  plumbs,  these  cured  all  who  were 
alliicted  with  the  scurvy  in  fifteen  days. 

On  the  16th  of  June  they  sailed  for  Port  Desire,  which  is  between 
forty-seven  and  forty-eight  degrees  south  latitude,  b«t  having  very  bad 
weather,  did  not  arrive  there  till  the  20lh  of  September.  On  an  island 
three  miles  to  the  south  of  this  place,  they  caught  great  quantities  of 
fish,  and  took  fifty  thousand  penguine,  besides  a  vast  number  of  eggs, 
which  proved  very  refreshing  food  to  those  who  were  sick.  On  the  5th 
of  October  some  of  the  seamen  went  on  shore,  and  found  beasts  like 
stags  and  buffaloes,  and  a  great  number  of  ostriches,  in  each  of  whose 
nests  were  nmeteen  eggs.  The  admiral  proceeding  also  to  take  a  view 
of  the  country,  left  strict  orders  for  those  who  attended  the  boats  not  to 
leave  them ;  but  disobeying  his  injunctions,  some  rambled  into  the  coun- 
try, where  they  fell  into  an  ambuscade  of  savages,  who  killed  three  and 
wounded  a  fourth.     These  savages  were  very  tall,  nearly  naked,  painted 


OLIVER  VAN  NOORT.  63 

thoir  skins,  and  were  armed  with  bows  and  ^rrows.  Sailing  hence  on 
the  29lh  of  October,  they  readied  Cape  Virgin  Mary  on  the  24th  of  next 
month,  and  attempted  to  enter  the  straits  of  Magellan,  but  were  prevented 
by  contrary  winds,  rain,  hail,  and  snow  ;  they  also  lost  their  anchors,  and 
broke  their  cables  ;  and  to  add  to  the  train  of  misfortune?,  sickness  raged 
much  among  the  men,  who  began  to  complain  ;  all  which  accidents 
uniting  together,  made  it  near  fifteen  months  from  the  beginning  of  tho 
voyage,  before  they  were  able  to  enter  the  straits. 

On  the  25ih  of  November  perceived  two  islands  near  Cape  Nassau,  on 
which  were  some  savages,  who  shook  their  weapons  at  them  in  token  of 
defiance  ;  but  the  Hollanders  landmg,  pursued  them  to  a  cave,  which 
was  obstinately  defended,  every  man  of  the  party  dying  on  the  spot.  On 
this  the  Dutch  entered  the  cave,  where  they  found  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren ;  and  the  poor  woman  expecting  immediate  death,  covered  their  in- 
fants with  their  bodies,  resolving  to  meet  their  fate  in  that  posture  ;  but 
the  Europeans  only  took  away  four  boys  and  two  girls,  who  were  carried 
on  board  the  ships.  One  of  these  boys  being  afterward  taught  to  speak 
Dutch,  informed  them  that  the  largest  island  was  called  Castemme,  and 
the  other  Talcke  ;  that  they  abounded  in  penguins,  the  flesh  of  which 
served  the  inhabitants  for  food,  and  the  skin  for  clothing  ;  that  they  caught 
ostriches  on  the  neighbouring  continent,  which  they  al&o  ate  ;  and  that 
they  had  no  habitation  but  caves  under  ground.  The  inhabitants  were 
divided  into  four  tribes,  three  of  which  were  people  of  moderate  stature, 
broad  over  the  breast,  which  ihey  always  painted,  and  went  naked,  except 
a  cloak  of  penguin  skins  which  reached  to  their  waist ;  that  the  fourth 
tribe  were  people  of  a  gigantic  stature,  being  full  ten  feet  high,  and  con- 
stantly at  war  with  the  other  tribes. 

Leaving  this  place,  they  sailed  toward  the  continent  on  the  28th,  seeing 
some  whales  at  a  distance,  and  observed  a  beautiful  river,  shaded  with 
trees,  covered  with  a  number  of  parrots,  to  which  place  they  gave  the 
name  of  Summer  Bay.  On  the  29th  proceeded  to  Port  Fa.nine,  where 
they  cut  down  wood  to  build  a  boat  ;  but  finding  no  good  anchoring, 
doubled  Capo  Froward  on  the  2  I  of  December,  and,  at  the  distance  of 
four  miles,  found  a  large  bay,  in  which  they  anchored  in  safety.  Here 
they  found  a  plant  like  sneezewort,  which  proved  an  excellent  remedy  for 
the  scurvy  ;  and  another  plant,  which,  being  tasted,  caused  the  person 
who  eat  it  to  run  distracted  for  a  time,  but  soon  afterv/ard  recovered. 

On  the  2d  of  January,  1600,  dnparted  for  Maurice  Bay,  which  was 
found  to  extend  far  to  the  eastward,  receiving  into  it  several  rivers,  the 
mouths  of  which  were  tilled  with  ice,  which  seemed  not  to  melt  all  tho 
year  round  ;  for  though  now  near  the  middle  of  summer,  it  was  still  ten 
fathoms  thick.  In  this  place  they  were  greatly  distressed  by  continual 
rains  and  the  want  of  provisions  ;  and  two  of  their  company  going  on 
siiore  to  pick  muscles,  were  murdered  by  the  savages.  Sailing  on  the  17th, 
they  were  driven  by  a  storm  into  a  bay  at  three  miles  distance,  which, 
from  the  number  of  penguins  they  found  there,  was  called  Goose  or  Pen- 
guin Bay.  At  this  place  the  vice-admiral  was  tried  by  a  conned  of  war 
for  divers  crimes,  and  sentenced  to  be  set  on  shore  to  shift  for  himself  m 
that  inhospitable  country. 

On  the  last  of  February  they  passed  Cape  Desire  into  the  South  Sea, 
their  men  being  now  reduced  to  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  ;  and  soon 
afterward  they  lost  the  Henry  Frederic,  of  which  the  vice-admiral  had 
been  commander.  Having  waited  some  time  in  fruitless  expectation  of 
this  vessel,  they  sailed,  on  the  12th  of  March  to  the  Island  of  La  Mocha, 

5* 


54  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

which  lies  in  38  degrees  south  latitude,  about  two  leagues  from  the  con- 
tinent. This  island  is  lemarkable  for  a  high  mountain  in  the  centre,  in 
Which  is  a  large  cleft,  from  whence  runs  a  stream  of  water  to  the  valleys 
below.  Going  ashore  at  this  place,  they  exchanged  hatchets  and  knives 
for  sheep,  fowls,  maize,  and  dilferent  sorts  of  fruit.  They  also  visited 
the  town,  which  consisted  of  about  fifty  houses,  built'  chiefly  of  straw, 
where  the  inhabitants  entertained  them  with  a  sour  liquor,  called  Cici, 
which  is  chiefly  used  at  their  grand  entertainments,  and  is  made  by  soak- 
ing maize  in  water.  The  people  of  this  island  purchase  their  wives,  and 
every  one  may  buy  as  many  as  he  can  keep ;  so  that  it  sometimes  hap- 
pens that  a  man,  who  has  a  number  of  handsome  daughters,  makes  a 
fortune  by  the  sale  of  them.  They  have  no  laws  or  magistrates  among 
them  ;  but  if  a  man  kills  another,  the  relations  of  the  murdered  person 
are  both  bis  judges  and  executioners,  but  will  frequently  remit  his  sen- 
tence for  a  treat  of  Cici.  The  clothes  of  the  inhabitants  are  made  of 
the  wool  of  large  sheep,  which  they  also  employ  to  carry  burdens. 

OtF  St.  Mary's  Island,  at  the  distance  of  six  leaguBsS,  they  chased  and 
took  a  Spanish  ship,  which  was  carrying  lard  and  meal  to  Aranco  and 
Conception.  The  pilot  informed  them  there  were  two  men-of-war  wait- 
ing for  their  coming  at  Arica  ;  on  which  they  determined  to  sail  to  Val- 
paraiso, where  they  took  two  ships,  and  killed  several  Indians;  but  the 
Spaniards  had  all  left  the  place.  Eighteen  miles  from  Valparaiso,  up  the 
country,  lies  St.  Jago,  which  abounds  in  red-wine  and  sheep  ;  these  they 
kill  only  for  the  fat,  with  which  alone  they  lade  many  vessels  every  year. 
At  this  town  some  letters  asserted,  that  the  Indians  of  Chili  had  risen 
against  the  Spaniards,  sacked  the  town  of  Baldivia,  took  many  prisoners, 
and  destroyed  great  numbers.  That  they  had  burnt  the  houies  and 
churches,  and  struck  off  the  heads  of  the  popish  images,  crying,  "  Down 
fall  the  gods  of  the  Spaniards."  About  five  thousand  Indians  were  con- 
cerned in  this  action,  who  bore  so  perfect  an  enmity  to  the  Spaniards, 
that  they  ripped  open  the  breasts  of  all  they  conquered,  merely  to  have 
the  pleasure  of  tearing  out  their  hearts  with  their  teeth.  These  Indians 
had  a  peculiar  method  of  electing  their  general :  the  man  who  carried  a 
heavy  log  of  timber  on  his  shoulders  for  the  longest  time,  was  to  com- 
mand in  chief.  Several  carried  it  for  four,  five,  or  six  hours,  but  at  length 
one  was  found  who  bore  its  weight  twenty-four  hours,  without  reating  ; 
and  he  was  their  present  general.  That  part  of  Chili  between  Baldivia 
and  St.  Jago  is  one  of  the  finest  spots  in  the  world,  hf^ving  a  fine  and 
wholesome  air,  being  remarkably  fertile,  abounding  in  cattle  and  fruits  of 
various  kinds,  and  having  abundance  of  gold  mines. 

On  the  IGth  of  September  arrived  at  Guana,  one  of  the  I^adrones, 
which  is  twenty  miles  in  extent,  and  produces  fish,  cocoa-nuts,  bananas, 
and  sugar  cane.?,  which  the  Indians  brought  in  their  canoes  in  groat  quan- 
tities to  the  ship.  Two  hundred  of  these  vessels  at  a  time,  having  each 
of  them  four  or  five  men  on  board,  would  come  bawling  to  the  sides  of 
the  ships,  calling  out,  "  Hiero,  Hiero,"  that  is,  iron,  of  which  they  are 
so  eager,  that  they  v^rould  frequently  run  against  the  ships  and  overset 
the  canoes.  Both  the  men  and  women  were  great  cheats,  and  would 
sell  a  basket  of  cocoa-shells,  covered  with  lice  at  the  top,  as  a  bas- 
ket of  rice  ;  or  would  snatch  a  sword  out  of  the  scabbard,  or  take  any- 
thing else  they  could  lay  their  hands  on,  and  diving  into  the  sea,  make 
their  escape.  On  the  17th  sailed  for  the  Philippines,  and  three  days  after- 
ward met  with  ice,  though  they  were  then  but  in  three  degrees  of  north 
latitude.     They  anchored  in  Bayla  Bay  on  the  i6th  of  October,  and  pro- 


OLIVER  VAN  NOORT.  £»5 

tending  to  be  Spaniards,  got  well  supplied  with  what  provisions  they 
wanted.  The  poor  Indians  of  this  place  pay  a  tax  af  ten  rials  a  head  to 
the  Spaniards  for  every  one  who  is  above  the  age  of  twenty.  These 
people  go  naked,  and  mark  their  skins  with  figures  so  deep  that  they  never 
wear  out.  After  having  got  supplies  here,  they  were  discovered,  where- 
upon they  sailed  for  the  Strait  of  Manilla,  and  in  their  way  met  with  a 
sudden  gust  of  wind,  which  carried  away  their  masts  and  sails. 

On  the  evening  of  the  23d  they  went  on  shore,  and  eat  palmitos,  and 
drank  plentifully  of  water,  soon  after  which  several  were  seized  with  the 
bloody- flux. 

On  the  24th  entered  the  strait,  and  in  the  evening  passed  the  Island 
Gapul,  seven  miles  within  the  strait,  and  crowded  all  sail  for  Manilla, 
which  is  eighty  miles  from  Capul,  but  the  wind  was  against  them,  besides 
which,  they  wanted  the  assistance  of  maps  and  a  good  pilot.  On  the  7th 
of  November  took  a  junk  of  China,  laden  with  provision,  for  Manilla,  the 
master  of  which  informed  them  there  were  at  tliat  time  at  Manilla  two 
Inrge  vessels,  which  came  annually  from  New  Spain  thither  ;  and  also  a 
Dutch  ship  from  Malacca  ;  that  there  was  a  wall  round  the  town,  and 
that  the  harbour  was  defended  by  two  forts  ;  that  a  prodigious  trade  was 
carried  on  in  silks  and  other  valuable  commodities  between  Manilla  and 
China,  in  which  not  less  than  four  hundred  ships  were  annually  employ- 
ed ;  and  that  two  ships  were  daily  expected  from  Japan,  laden  with  pro- 
visions. On  the  15th  they  took  two  barks  laden  with  swine  and  poultry, 
intended  as  tribute  for  the  Spaniards  ;  after  which  they  lay  at  anchor  in 
fifteen  degrees  north  latitude,  waituig  for  the  Japan  ships,  one  of  which, 
of  about  fifty  tons  burthen,  they  took  on  the  1st  of  December  ;  this  vessel 
was  of  a  very  uncouth  shape  ;  her  sails  were  made  of  reeds,  her  anchors 
of  wood,  and  her  ropes  of  twisted  straw ;  the  people  on  board  her  were 
bald,  except  a  small  tuft  of  hair  on  the  back  part  of  the  head. 

On  the  9th  they  took  two  barks,  one  of  which  was  laden  with  rice 
and  poultry,  and  the  other  with  cocoa,  wine,  and  aqua  vitae.  On  the  14ih 
they  fell  in  with  the  two  Spanish  ships  from  Manilla,  on  which  a  warm 
engagement  ensued,  when  the  Dutch  admiral  was  attacked,  and  at  length 
boarded  by  the  Spaniards  ;  whereupon  the  admiral  declared  aloud  that  he 
would  immediately  blow  tip  the  ship  if*  his  men  did  not  clear  her  of  the 
Spaniards,  and  recover  the  fortune  of  the  day.  The  Dutch,  animated  at 
once  by  hope  and  despair,  fought  like  tigers,  and  not  only  drove  the  ene- 
my from  their  ship,  but,  in  return  boarding  theirs,  soon  sunk  her.  In 
this  action  the  Spaniards  lost  several  hundreds,  many  of  whom  were 
drowned,  while  the  loss  of  the  Dutch  amounted  only  to  five  killed  and 
twenty-six  wounded  ;  but  by  this  time  their  whole  number  of  hands  able 
to  do  duty  was  no  more  than  thirty-five.  Continuing  their  voyage  till 
the  26th,  they  came  to  anchor  at  Borneo,  in  a  commodious  bay  three  miles 
in  compass,  exchanging  linen  cloth  for  fish  with  the  neighbouring  fisher- 
men. The  admiral  sent  a  messenger  to  the  king,  desiring  leave  to  trade, 
which  was  granted  after  the  proper  officers  had  been  on  board,  and  found 
that  they  were  not  Spaniards, 

On  the  first  of  January,  1601,  the  Borneans  having  laid  a  plot  to  seize 
the  Dutch  ship,  a  great  number  of  natives  came  toward  the  vessel  in  a 
hundred  little  boats  called  proas,  and  pretending  to  have  presents  from 
the  king,  desired  to  be  taken  on  board  ;  but  the  Dutch,  suspecting  their 
intention,  threatened  to  fire  on  them  if  they  did  not  keep  off,  upon  whjch 
they  desisted  from  the  attempt. 

The  Island  of  Borneo  is  the  largest  in  the  East  Indies,  and  the  capital 


56  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

eity,  which  bears  the  same  name,  consists  of  three  thousand  houses,  hut 
is  built  in  such  a  low,  wet  situation,  that  the  inhabitants  are  commonly 
obliged  to  go  from  one  house  to  another  in  their  proas.  Every  man  goes 
armed  ;  and  even  the  women  are  of  so  warlike  a  disposition,  that  if  they 
are  aflionted,  they  seek  their  revenge  by  the  dagger  or  javelin.  A  Dutch- 
man having  ofiended  one  of  these  ladies,  she  attacked  him  with  a  javelin, 
and  would  soon  have  despatched  him,  had  she  not  been  withheld  by  force. 
The  inhabitants  profess  the  Mahometan  religion,,  in  the  rites  of  which  they 
are  extremely  superstitious.  The  people  of  fashion  wear  a  cotton  turban 
©n  tiie  head,  and  a  covering  of  linen  froin  the  waist  downward  :  but  the  corn- 
man  people  go  naked,  and  are  constaritly  ehewmg  the  herbs  called  betle 
and  areka.  In  the  night  of  the  4th  of  January,  four  Borneans  came  la 
the  ship,  designing  to  cut  the  cables  that  she  might  drive  on  shore,  but 
the  Dutch,  discovering  the  design,  fired  at  them,  whereupon  they  made 
their  escape,  leaving  their  proa  behind,  which  the  other  seized,  arvd  being 
weary  of  Borneo  and  its  inhabitants,  sailed  for  Bantam.  Oa  the  16th 
took  a  junk  from  Jor,  on  board  of  which  was  a  skilful  pilot,  who  conduct- 
ed them  through  those  dangerous  seas,  where  otherwise  they  would  pro- 
bably have  been  lost ;  for  now  they  hid  but  one  anchor  left,  the  cable  of 
which  was  almost  worn  out,.  an<l  they  were  surrounded  with  a  great 
number  of  small  islands  and  shoals. 

On  the  2&th  they  arrived  at  Jortan,  on  the  Island  of  Java,  where  they 
had  news  of  Dutch  ships  being  at  Bantam,  a  city  consisting  of  about  a 
thousand  houses,  built  of  timber.  The  king  of  this  place  commands  a 
considerable  part  of  that  end  of  the  island.  The  people  are  said  to  be 
Mahometans,  but  from  the  pagods  still  in  uso  among  the  common  class^ 
it  appears  that  the  superstitious  practices  af  the  Mussulmen  are  intermixed 
with  those  of  the  Indian  worsliip.  Their  chief-priest  was  one  hundred 
and  twenty  years  of  age,  and  had  many  wives,  the  milk  of  whose  breasts 
was  all  his  food.  SaiUng  hence,  they  saw  a  Portuguese  vessel,  of  six 
hundred  tons  burthen,  run  aground  on  the  shoals,  the  crew  of  which 
said  they  were  going  to  Amboyna  to  engross  the  trade  af  that  place  ;  but 
the  admiral,  suspecting  she  had  put  to  sea  to  cruise  against  them,  left  the 
crew  to-  perish  in  that  dreadful  situation. 

They  passed  the  straits  of  Sunda  on  the  5th  of  February,  and  leaving 
Java  on  the  north-east,  steered  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  On  the 
18ih  had  the  sun  vertical  at  noon,  after  which  they  were  becalmed  for 
eleven  days.  On  the  24th  of  April,  at  night,  saw  a  light  like  fire  about 
four  miles  to  the  north-west,  v/hich  they  had  no  idea  of,  as  they  were 
iuil  20O  miles  from  the  cape. 

On  the  25th,  at  night,  perceived  another  fire,  and  the  nest  morning 
eliscovered  land  bearing  north-east,  but  continuing  their  course,  arrived 
oil  St.  Helena  on  the  2Gth,  where  they  refreshed  themselves  with  good 
fresh  nieat,  fish,  and  water.  Leaving  the  island  on  the  30th,  sailed 
homeward,  but,  by  the  22d  of  July,  were  extremely  distressed,  being  at 
short  allowance  of  bread,  and  what  they  had  was  worm-eaten. 

This  distress  increased  daily  till  the  18th  of  August,  when  they  met 
three  ships  from  Eiabden,  which  gave  them  bread  and  fresh  meat,  for 
lice  and  pepper ;  and  on  the  26th  of  the  same  month,  at  noon,  they  ai- 
rived  safely  before  the  city  of  Ratterdam,  having  beeu  very  nearly  three 
years  on  the  voyage. 


6? 

CAt^f  AIN  WILLIAM  DAMPIEU.— 1683-1705. 

William  DaKpier,  descended  df  a  reputable  family  in  Somersetshire, 
was  born  in  the  year  1653  ;  but  having  the  misforlune  to  lose  both  his 
parents  while  very  young,  his  relations  neglected  his  education  ;  and  his 
disposition  strongly  inclining  him  to  the  sea,  he  was,  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen, put  apprentice  to  the  master  of  a  ship  at  Weymouth,  in  Dorsetshire, 
with  whom  he  made  a  voyage  to  France  in  the  year  1669,  and  another  to 
New  England  in  the  year  following.  But  in  thfe  second  voyage,  sufiering 
so  much  from  extreme  cold,  he  lost  much  of  that  ardour  for  a  maritime 
life  with  which  he  had  before  been  inspired  ;  so  that  on  his  return  he 
retired  to  his  friends  in  the  country,  proposing  not  to  go  to  sea  any  more. 
Hearing,  however,  of  an  outward  bound  Erfst  India  ship  which  was  soon 
to  sail, "he  came  to  London,  entered  himself  as  a  foremast  man,  and  made 
a  voyage  to  Bantam,  by  which  he  acquired  considerable  experience  ;  and 
returning  to  England  in  January,  1672,  remained  during  the  following 
summer  at  the  house  of  his  brother  in  Somersetshire. 

In  1673  he  served  under  Sir  Edward  Spragge  in  two  engagements 
against  the  Dutch  ;  after  which  he  went  again  into  Somersetshire,  where 
he  met  with  one  Colonel  Hellier,  who,  having  a  large  estate  in  Jamaica, 
persuaded  Mr.  Dampier  to  go  there  and  take  the  management  of  it ;  but 
being  soon  weary  of  this  employment,  he  engaged  with  Captain  Hodsell 
to  cut  logwood  in  the  Bay  of  Campeachy.  This  business  being  attended 
With  profit,  he  continued  it  for  a  considerable  period  ;  and  during  this 
time,  became  acquainted  with  the  bucaniers,  with  whom  he  afterward 
engaged  ;  but  of  which  connexion  he  was  at  length  much  ashamed.  In 
the  Bay  of  Campeachy  he  formed  some  projects  for  advancing  his  fortune  ; 
which,  however,  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  return  to  England,  where 
having  raised  what  money  he  was  able,  he  embarked  for  Jamaica  in  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1679.  He  arrived  about  the  end  of  April  follow- 
ing, with  a  full  intention  to  have  furnished  himself  vvith  all  materials  for 
carrying  On  the  logwood  trade  ;  but  afterward  altered  his  resolution,  and 
laid  out  the  greater  part  of  his  fortune  in  the  purchase  of  a  small  estate  in 
Dorsetshire.  Soon  after  this  he  made  an  agreement  \*ith  one  Mr.  Hobby 
to  make  a  vOyage  to  the  Moskito  shore  before  he  went  to  England.  Soon 
after  setting  out,  th«y  anchored  ofl' Nigral  Bay,  at  the  west  end  of  Jamai- 
ca, where  hnding  the  Captains  Coxon,  Sawkins,  Sharp,  and  dthers,  going 
on  a  privateering  ex})edition.  Hobby's  men  all  engriged  with  them,  and 
Dampier  finding  no  one  left  with  Hobby  but  himself,  consented  to  go  also. 
Their  first  expedition  was  against  Porto  Bello,  which  having  accomplished, 
they  came  to  a  resolution  of  crossing  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  to  pursue 
their  design  in  the  South  Seas. 

On  the  fifth  of  April,  1680,  they  landed  near  Golden  Island,  being  in 
number  upward  of  300,  and  carrying  with  them  all  kinds  of  provisions, 
and  plenty  of  toys  to  gratify  the  Indians.  Marching  hence,  in  nine  days 
they  came  to  Santa  Maria,  which  they  plundered;  but  finding  very  little 
booty,  after  remaining  three  days,  they  embarked  on  board  canoes  and 
other  small  vessels  for  the  South  Seas.  On  the  33d  of  April,  being  in 
sight  of  Panama,  they  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  upon  Puebla  Nova, 
in  which  Captain  Sawkins,  who  was  commandef-in-chief,  was  killed.  On 
the  Olh  of  June  steered  for  the  coast  of  Peru,  and  touching  at  the  islands 
of  Gorgonia  and  Plata,  came  to  Ylo,  which  they  look  in  the  month  of 
October.  Arriving  at  Juan  Fernandez  nbout  Christmas,  they  displaced 
CajKain  Sharp,  who  had  commanded  in  cliief  since  the  death  of  Sawkins^ 


58  Voyages  round  the  world. 

and  nHade  choice  of  Captain  Watling  in  his  room  ;  soon  after  which  they 
made  a  fruitless  attempt  upon  Africa,  a  strong  town  on  the  coast  of  Peru, 
whete  Watling  and  tweniy-eight  of  his  men  being  killed,  the  crew  di- 
vided themselves  into  two  factions,  some  of  whom  were  for  restoring  Cap-* 
tain  Sharp,  and  others  for  excluding  him.  But  the  former  party  prevailing, 
Dampier  with  the  latter,  being  forty-seven  in  number,  determined  upon 
crossing  the  isthmus  ;  which  bold  and  dangerous  undertaking,  notwith- 
standing they  had  no  regular  commander,  was  accomplished  in  twenty- 
three  days.  They  set  out  on  this  expedition  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  on  the  1st  of  May,  carrying  with  them  a  kettle  to  dress  their 
provisions,  twenty  or  thirty  pounds  of  chocolate,  some  sugar,  and  a  quantity 
of  flour.  On  the  second  day,  these  adventurers  travelled  only  about  five 
miles,  stopping  at  an  Indian  plantation,  where  they  found  only  women, 
one  of  whom  gave  them  a  kind  of  beer  brewed  from  corn.  In  the  eve- 
ning the  husbands  of  these  women  came  home,  and  treated  our  traveilera 
with  fowls,  yams,  plantains,  &c.<  and  one  of  them,  who  spoke  a  little 
Spanish,  agreed  to  guide  them  to  an  Indian,  who,  being  master  of  that 
language,  could  give  full  directions  ;  and  for  this  service  he  was  to  be 
rewarded  with  a  hatchet. 

On  the  next  day,  about  noon,  he  introduced  them  to  the  Indian  who 
spoke  Spanish,  but  he  gave  only  ill-natured  answers,  and  appeared  to  be 
their  enemy  ;  some  of  the  party  giving  his  wife  a  fine  petticoat,  she  brought 
him  into  a  better  humour,  and  he  procured  them  a  guide  for  two  days-, 
being  unable  to  attend  himself  on  account  of  a  wound  in  his  foot.  He 
informed  them  of  a  Spanish  guardsbip  that  was  sent  out  to  destroy  their 
vessel,  and  as  it  rained  very  hard,  would  have  had  them  stay  in  his  hut 
all  night ;  but  they  chose  rather  to  abide  the  inclemency  of  the  weather, 
than  remain  so  near  enemies. 

At  length  arriving  at  Sound's-key,  after  a  variety  of  accidents,  they 
joined  Captain  Tristian,  commander  of  a  French  privateer,  with  whom 
they  sailed  to  Springer's-key,  uniting  there  with  eight  privateers  more,  the 
whole  fleet  having  on  board  near  600  men,  with  which  force  they  flattered 
themselves  with  the  hope  of  doing  great  things  against  the  Spaniairds. 
But  the  commanders  disagreeing,  Dampier  and  his  companions  put  them- 
selves under  the  command  of  Captain  Wright,  with  whom  they  continued 
cruising  along  the  Spanish  coast  as  far  as  the  Dutch  settlcinentof  Curaqoa  ; 
from  this  they  sailed  to  Tortugas,  and  thence  to  the  Caracca  coast,  where 
they  took  three  prizes,  which  were  shared  ;  and  resolving  to  separate, 
Dampier,  and  about  twenty  others,  took  one  of  the  barks  and  proceeded 
for  Virginia,  where  they  arrived  in  July  1632. 

At  Virginia,  Dampier  associated  himself  with  Captain  Cooke,  wit4 
whom  he  had  formerly  been  acquainted,  and  who  now  intended  to  sail 
into  the  South  Seas  to  cruise  against  the  Spaniards. 

The-y  set  sail  from  Aecomac  on  the  33J  of  August,  1683,  steering 
for  the  Cape  de  Verd  islands  ;  but  had  not  been  many  days  at  sea  before 
they  were  overtaken  by  a  violent  storm,  which  continuing  for  a  week, 
scarcely  left  any  hope  of  outliving  it.  At  length  they  made  the  Island 
of  Salt,  so  called  from  the  quantities  of  congealed  salt  which  is  found 
there,  and  the  number  of  salt  ponds  with  which  it  abounds. 

The  soil  of  this  island,  situated  in  sixteen  degrees  north  latitude,  is 
extremely  barren,  producing  only  a  few  mean  shrubs  near  the" sea-side, 
which  serve  to  feed  a  number  of  poor  goats.  There  are  some  wild  fowl 
on  the  island,  the  chief  of  which  is  the  flamingo,  a  reddish  bird,  somewhat 
like  the  heron,  which  frequents  the  marshes,  where  it  is  not  easy  to  get 
near  enough  to  slioot  them.     They  build  their  nests  of  mud;  scraped 


WILLIAM  DAMPIER.  59 

together  into  little  hillocks,  tapering  on  the  top,  which  rise  nearly  two 
feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water. 

At  the  top  of  the  hillock  they  leave  their  eggs,  of  which  no  more  than 
two  are  laid,  and  cover  them  with  their  tails,  their  legs  being  at  the  same 
time  in  the  water  ;  a  position  which  nature  has  rendered  easy  to  this 
bird,  as  otherwise  the  weight  of  their  bodies  would  break  the  eggs,  or 
smother  the  young,  which  cannot  fly  till  full  grown,  but  run  with  such 
swiftness  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  take  them.  Their  tongues  are  es- 
teemed great  dainties  ;  but  the  rest  of  the  body  is  lean  and  black,  though 
not  of  an  ill  taste. 

All  the  inhabitants  of  this  island  amounted  to  no  more  than  six  ;  the 
chief  of  whom,  making  a  most  ragged  and  deplorable  figure,  presented 
them  with  thtee  or  four  lean  goats  ;  in  return  for  which,  Captain  Cooke 
gave  him  a  coat,  and  bought  a  quantity  of  salt  for  some  other  old  clothes. 
The  traffic  being  over,  he  beggtd  a  little  powder  and  shot,  and  departed 
well  satisfied  ;  but  one  of  the  others,  unknown  to  the  chief,  pretended 
to  sell  a  piece  of  nmbergris  to  a  sailor,  which  proved  to  be  nothing  but  a 
preparation  of  goats'  eiccrement. 

Sailing  hence,  they  steered  to  St.  Nicholas,  another  of  the  Cape  de 
Verd  islands,  at  the  distance  of  twenty-two  leagues  to  the  south-west, 
and  anchored  on  the  south-east  side  of  it. 

They  remained  here  about  five  or  six  days,  digging  wells  for  fresh 
water,  and  scrubbing  the  ship's  bottom,  and  then  stood  over  to  the  Island 
of  Mayo,  another  of  the  Cape  de  Verds,  where  they  proposed  to  have 
purchased  some  goats  and  cows  ;  but  a  Captain  Bond  having  some  time 
before  seized  the  governor  and  some  other  gentlemen,  and  refusing  a 
ransom  which  was  offered,  carried  them  off;  the  inhabitants  on  this  ac- 
count would  not  permit  any  of  Captian  Cooke's  men  to  land.  The  Island 
of  Mayo  abounds  in  goats  and  other  horned  cattle,  and  small  turtle  are 
found  here  in  May,  June,  July,  and  August. 

Captain  Cooke  steered  from  the  Cape  de  Verd  islands  directly  for 
the  straits  of  Magellan :  but  the  wind  blowing  hard  at  south  when  they 
were  in  ten  degrees  north  latitude,  they  stood  over  for  the  coast  of  Gui- 
nea, and  in  a  few  days  anchored  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  Sherborough, 
southward  of  Sierta  Leona.  Not  far  from  the  shore  they  saw  a  pretty 
large  village,  inhabited  by  negroes,  the  houses  of  which  were  all  low, 
except  one  in  the  middle,  where  they  were  entertained  with  palm  wine  ; 
near  this  place  was  an  English  factory,  which  carried  on  a  considerable 
trade  in  a  red  wood  u«ed  by  the  dyers,  called  camwood.  These  people 
behaved  with  great  civility,  and  supplied  them  with  rice,  fowls,  honey, 
and  sugar  canes.  They  continued  their  voyage  for  the  straits  of  Magel- 
lan about  the  middle  of  November,  but  were  no  sooner  out  at  sea  than 
they  m-et  with  violent  gusts  of  wind,  interchanged  with  calms,  so  that 
they  proceeded  very  slowly.  Having  touch"ed  at  the  three  islands  of 
Sebald  de  Weert,  where  they  found  nothing  but  a  few  bushes,  and  some 
small  red  lobsters  about  the  size  of  a  man's  finger,  they  came  within 
sight  of  the  straits  of  lieMaire  on  the  ist  of  February,  which  they  found 
mountainous  on  each  side,  and  very  narrow.  They  encountered  a  violent 
storm  at  west-south-west  on  the  14th,  which  held  till  the  3d  of  March  ; 
on  the  19lh  discovered  a  sail,  which  they  supposed  to  be  a  Spanish  mer- 
chantman, bound  from  Baldivia  for  Lima;  but  it  proved  to  be  an  English 
ship,  commanded  by  Captain  Eaton,  bound  from  London  for  the  South 
Seas,  with  whom  they  kept  company  quite  through  the  straits,  and  were 
supplied  by  them  with  water,  which  they  stood  in  need  of,  in  retv?*)  <br 
bread  and  beef  which  Captain  Eaton  v/anted. 


60  VOYAGES  ROVND  THE  WOKLP. 

•  On  the  24lh  anchored  in  a  bay  on  the  south  side  of  the  Tslancf  of 
Juan  Fernandez,  within  two  cables'  length  of  the  shore.  As  soon  as 
fully  secured,  they  sent  a  boat  with  a  Mosquito  and  two  or  three  sailors 
to  the  shore  in  search  of  a  Mosquito  Indian,  whom  Captain  Watling  had 
left  there  three  years  before,  having  at  that  time  concealed  himself  in 
the  woods  from  the  search  of  the  Spaniards.  He  was  soon  found,  for 
having  the  day  before  discovered  an  English  sail,  he  had  killed  three 
goats  to  entertain  the  crew,  running  to  the  shore  to  meet  them.  .  As 
«oon  as  he  saw  the  other  Indian  he  ran  toward  him,  and  having  thrown 
himself  with  his  face  to  the  ground,  embraced  him  with  all  the  marks 
of  tenderness,  and  then  saluted  his  old  friends  the  sailors,  who  he  thought 
were  come  on  purpose  to  bring  him  ofi"  the  island. 

Some  Spaniards  who  had  heard  of  his  being  there,  had  often  searched 
for  him  in  vain,  as  he  always  took  care  to  hide  himself  from  them.  This 
man  was  called  Will,  and  the  other  Robert,  for  though  the  Mosquito  In- 
dians had  no  names  by  which  they  distinguish  themselves,  they  take  it 
as  a  favour  if  the  Europeans  will  bestow  one  on  them. 

Will  had  built  himself  a  hut  abo^e  half  a  mile  f?om  the  sea-side, 
which  he  had  lined  with  goats'  skin,  a  piece  of  which  he  wore  round  him 
instead  of  his  clothes,  which  had  been  worn  out  for  some  time  ;  he 
also  made  his  bed  of  the  same  materials.  When  he  was  left  on  shore 
he  had  with  bim  a  knife,  a  gun,  and  a  little  powder  and  shot. 

When  his  ammunition  was  expended,  he  made  a  saw  of  his  knife  by 
notching  it,  with  which  he  sawed  the  barrel  of  the  gun  into  small  pieces  j 
then  kindling  a  fire  with  his  flint,  worked  the  iron  into  a  lance,  fishing- 
hooks,  and  harpoons.  These  contrivances  were  the  result  of  necessity, 
founded  upon  what  he  remembered  of  the  workmanship  of  the  English 
smiths  ;  and  indeed  all  the  Mosquito  Indians  make  their  instruments  with- 
out forge  or  anvil.  With  the  help  of  these  instruments,  this  poor  fellow 
had  subsisted  upward  of  three  years  upon  goats  and  such  fish  as  he 
could  catch. 

The  voyagers  sailed  from  the  Island  of  Juan  Fernandez,  after  a  stay 
of  fourteen  days,  on  the  8ih  of  April,  1684,  in  company  with  Captain 
Eaton,  for  the  South  Seas  ;  steering  toward  the  line  off  the  high  land 
of  Peru  and  Chili,  at  the  distance  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  leagues  from  the 
shore,  lest  the  Spaniards  should  discover  them.  Captain  Eaton  took  a 
prize  on  the  3d  of  May,  bound  from  Guaquil  to  Lima,  laden  with  timber  } 
after  which,  steering  within  five  leagues  of  the  continent,  they  arrived 
at  the  islands  of  Lobos  de  la  Mar,  which  abound  in  penguins,  boobies, 
and  other  fowls.  These  islands  are  each  about  a  mile  round,  and  to  the 
west  of  one  of  them  is  a  safe  harbour,  where  Captain  Cooke  having 
scrubbed  the  ships,  and  examined  the  men  who  were  on  board  the  prize, 
learned  that  the  Spaniards,  having  intelligence  of  their  being  in  those 
seas,  would  not  trust  their  vessels  to  sea  without  a  sufificient  guard,  and 
tlierefore  proposed  to  his  men  to  make  a  descent  upon  Truxillo,  a  popu- 
lous town  six  miles  from  the  port  of  Guanehagno.  To  this  the  crew 
unanimously  agreed  ;  but  changed  their  resolution  on  being  acquainted 
that  tlie  people  of  Truxillo  were  erecting  a  fort  near  the  harbour  of 
Guanehagno.  This  information  they  received  from  the  crews  of  three 
Spanish  vessels,  which  they  had  taken,  and  which  were  bound  to  Panama 
with  flour. 

They  now  resolved  to  bear  away  for  the  Gallapagos,  a  number  of  un- 
fnhabited  islands,  lying  under  and  near  the  line,  on  both  sides  of  it.  On 
the  evening  of  the  3 1st  they  anchored  in  sixteen  fathom  water,  on  the 
east  s'de  of  one  of  the  easternmost. 


WlLLAIM  DAMPIER.  61 

Some  of  these  islands  are  seven  or  eight  leagues  long,  and  three  or 
four  broad ;  they  are  mostly  rocky  and  barren,  having  no  grass  except 
just  on  the  sea-shore  ;  but  they  have  tolerable  good  water  in  the  cavities 
of  the  rocks. 

When  they  had  remained  twelve  days,  one  of  the  Indian  prisoners, 
born  at  Rio  Leja,  giving  them  an  advantageous  account  of  the  riches  of 
that  place,  and  promising  to  conduct  them  thither,  they  set  sail  on  the 
12th  of  June,  but,  by  the  beginning  of  July,  light  winds  and  fair  weather 
brought  them  within  view  of  Cape  Blanco,  in  the  Mexican  Sea,  Two  or 
three  leagues  off  Cape  Blanco,  Captain  Cooke,  who  had  been  ill  ever 
since  he  left  Juan  Fernandez,  died  ;  and  they  unanimously  chose  Mr. 
Edward  Davis,  the  company's  quarter-master,  captain  in  his  room. 

As  they  came  to  an  anchor  in  about  four  hours  after  Captain  Cooke's 
death,  near  the  mouth  of  a  rivulet,  the  body  was  ordered  on  shore,  to  be 
buried,  under  a  guard  of  twelve  men  ;  but  while  they  were  employed  in 
digging  his  grave,  three  Spanish  Indians  came  up  ;  whom  the  sailors 
conversed  with  for  a  time,  and  ihen  suddenly  seized  ;  but  one  of  them 
found  means  to  make  his  escape.  The  two  others  being  carried  on  board, 
and  examined  by  Captain  Eaton,  were  found  to  be  spies  from  Nicoya,  a 
small  mulatto  rown,  about  fourteen  leagues  to  the  eastward  of  the  cape, 
the  inhabitants  of  which  lived  by  tilling  their  ground  and  feeding  their 
cattle  on  the  plains,  of  which  they  had  great  numbers. 

As  the  men  had  tasted  no  fresh  meat  since  leaving  the  Gallapagos, 
twenty-four  persons,  among  whom  was  Dampier,  with  a  Spanish  Indian 
for  a  pilot,  were  despatched  in  two  boats  to  bring  ofT  some  cows  and 
bulls  from  a  farm  at  about  a  league  distance  from  the  ship.  Hauling  up 
the  boat  on  dry  land,  the  guide  conducted  them  to  the  pen,  which  was 
situated  in  a  large  savannah,  where  there  were  a  great  number  of  horned 
cattle,  which  appeared  very  fat. 

Being  weary,  and  night  coming  on,  some  were  for  resting  till  morning, 
and  then  killing  what  they  wanted,  while  others  were  for  proceeding  to 
business  immediately.  Twelve  of  them,  among  whom  was  Dampier, 
returned  on  board  the  ship,  while  the  others  chose  to  remain  till  the  next 
morning  ;  but  they  had  reason  to  repent  of  this  rashness,  for  at  break 
of  day,  when  preparing  to  drive  away  as  many  cattle  as  they  wanted, 
they  were  beset  by  forty  or  fifty  Spaniards,  who  had  concealed  themselves 
among  the  bushes,  and  discharged  several  shot  at  them.  They  retired 
in  as  regular  a  manner  as  possible  to  their  boat,  which,  to  their  great 
confusion,  now  appeared  in  flames  ;  the  Spaniards  keeping  at  a  distance, 
and  mocking  their  distress. 

Wading  to  a  rock  a  little  way  into  the  water,  where  the  Spaniards 
could  not  approach,  they  remained  several  hoars  in  extreme  distress,  in 
danger  of  being  swallowed  by  the  sea,  which  flowed  in  very  fast.  In 
the  meantime,  those  on  board  the  ship,  seeing  nothing  of  the  absentees 
by  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  sent  a  canoe  with  ten  men  in  search  of 
th^m,  by  whom  they  were  found  up  to  the  middle  in  water,  and  in  such 
a  situation,  as  the  sea  continued  to  flow,  that  they  must  have  been  drown- 
ed if  the  canoe  had  come  one  hour  later. 

At  this  place  they  seized  three  good  canoes,  and  having  provided  them* 
aelves  with  a  quantity  of  lance  wood,  which  is  straight  and  heavy,  to 
make  looms  for  oars  and  scouring  rods  for  guns,  and  taken  in  what  wa- 
ter they  wanted,  they  sailed  on  the  20th  of  July  for  Ilio  Leja,  which  may 
be  discerned  at  sea  at  the  distance  of  twenty  leagues,  on  account  of  a 
remarkable  burning  mountain,  by  which  it  is  distinguished.     They  intend- 

6 


63 


VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  YTORtl). 


ed  to  have  landed  here,  but  having  rowed  in  their  canoes,  and  taken  a 
distant  view  of  the  town,  they  found,  by  some  commotions  on  shore,  they 
were  discovered,  and  therefore  returned  on  board. 

It  was  now  determined,  in  a  conference  between  the  captains,  Davis 
and  Eaton,  to  steer  for  the  Gulf  of  Amapalla  ;  which  being  entered  by 
the  former  with  two  canoes,  in  order  to  get  a  prisoner  and  obtain  intel- 
hgence,  he  came  the  fir^t  night  lo  Mangera,  In  the  morning,  observing 
several  canoes  hauled  up  in  a  bay,  he  landed  there,  and  struck  into  a 
path  which  led  to  the  town;  but  all  the  inhabitants  fled  to  the  woods, 
except  an  old  priest  and  two  Indian  boys.  These  being  made  prisoners 
by  Captain  Davis,  were  brought  to  the  sea-side,  and  compelled  to  con- 
duct him  to  the  Island  of  Amapalla  ;  being  landed,  he  proceeded  to  a 
town  on  the  lop  of  a  hill,  the  inhabitants  of  which  would  have  fled  into 
the  woods,  but  were  prevented  by  the  secretary  to  the  chief  magistrate, 
who,  though  an  Indian,  could  read  and  write  the  Spanish  language,  but 
was  an  enemy  to  the  Spaniards. 

This  man  having  persuaded  his  countrynrien  that  Captain  Davis  and 
his  people  were  friends,  who  desired  their  assistance  against  their  com- 
mon enemy,  they  bid  them  welcome  ;  whereupon  the  captain  advanced 
at  the  head  of  his  men  toward  the  Indians,  who  came  forward,  led  by 
the  priest,  and  received  them  in  a  very  friendly  manner  ;  after  which  they 
proceeded  toward  the  church  to  confer  together. 

Davis  intended,  as  soon  as  he  had  got  into  the  church,  to  prevail  on  the 
Indians  to  lend  him  their  assistance  against  the  Spaniards  ;  and  all  things 
seemed  in  a  fair  way  to  succeed,  when,  just  as  they  were  entering  tlie 
church,  one  of  his  men,  who  thought  an  Indian  before  him  went  on  too 
slowly,  pushed  him  forward,  upon  which  the  poor  fellow,  being  frightened, 
ran  hastily  away,  and  all  the  others  following  him,  the  captain  and  the 
priest  were  left  in  the  church  by  themselves.  Not  knowing  what  caused 
the  confusion,  the  former  ordered  the  men  to  fire  upon  the  fugitives  ;  and 
his  friend,  the  secretary,  being  killed  at  one  of  the  first  shots,  his  cor- 
respondence with  these  people  was  entirely  at  an  end. 

The  ships  coming  to  an  anchor  near  the  Isle  of  Amapalla  the  same 
afternoon,  Captain  Davis  and  his  men  went  on  board,  taking  the  friar 
with  them  ;  who  told  them,  that  as  the  secretary  was  dead,  the  only 
thing  they  could  do,  would  be  to  send  for  the  cacique  ;  which  being  done, 
he  came  on  board,  attended  by  six  of  of  his  principal  people,  and  being 
received  in  a  very  friendly  manner,  they  remained  on  board  as  long  as 
the  ships  lay  in  the  gulf,  directing  them  where  to  go  for  wood,  and  water, 
and  cattle,  and  readily  affording  all  the  assistance  in  their  power  ;  for 
which  the  captain  rewarded  them  with  some  trifling  presents,  with  which 
they  departed  highly  satisfied. 

Sending  the  priest  on  shore.  Captain  Davis  sailed  out  of  the  Gulf  of 
Amapalla  on  the  3d  of  September,  1684,  leaving  the  cacique  and  his  at- 
tendants in  possession  of  one  of  the  prizes,  which  was  half  full  of  flour. 

Captain  Eaton  had  parted  company  the  preceding  day,  but  though  in 
Jess  than  three  weeks  he  oflTered  to  join  Captain  Davis  again  off  the 
Island  of  Plata,  yet  Davis's  men  refused  to  share  with  Eaton's  in  such 
prizes  as  might  fall  into  their  hands. 

The  Island  of  Plata  is  pretty  high,  and  surrounded  with  rocky  cliffs,  e.v- 
cept  in  one  place,  where  a  torrent  of  fresh  water  pours  down  from  the  rocks. 
It  produces  grass  and  three  or  four  small  kinds  of  trees,  which  Dampier 
did  not  know  the  name  of.  It  abounds  with  the  birds  called  boobies,  and 
the  maa-of-war  bird  ;  and  near  the  shore  are  plenty  of  small  turtle.     It  is 


Vv'ILLUM  f)AMPIEii.  63 

iaid  to  have  been  named  La  Plata.,  because  hero  the  rich  prize  of  plate, 
called  the  Cacafuego,  was  divided  by  Sir  Francis  Drake  among  his  men. 

They  stayed  here  only  one  day,  and  then  steered  for  Point  St.  Helena^ 
which  is  a  high  fiat  land,  bearing  south  from  La  Plata,  in  twenty-ihieo 
degrees  fifteen  minutes  south  latitude. 

On  the  north  side  is  a  large  bay,  on  the  shore  of  which  stands  a  poor 
villagf>  which  is  also  called  St.  Helena,  inhabited  by  Indians,  who  have 
neither  grain,  plants,  nor  fruit,  but  water  melons,  which  arc  very  large 
and  sweet ;  they  have  neither  spring  nor  river  of  any  kind  near  them, 
and  are  obliged  to  fetch  their  fresh  water  fro.m  a  river  at  four  leagues 
distance.  They  live  chiefly  upon  fish,  except  some  maize  procured  in 
exchange  for  a  bituminous  substance,  which  the  Spaniards  call  algatrane, 
which  issue  out  of  the  earth  above  high-water  mark,  and  which,  when 
boiled,  answers  all  the  purposes  of  pitch.  The  captain  landed  some  men 
here,  who  seized  a  small  bark,  which  they  preserved  from  being  burnt, 
the  Indians  having  set  it  on  fire,  as  they  afSrmed,  by  command  of  the 
viceroy  ;  they  also  took  a  few  prisoners,  from  whom  it  appeared  the  viceroy 
had  commanded  all  seamen  to  burn  their  vessels,  and  take  to  their  boats, 
if  they  should  happen  to  fall  in  the  way  of  the  English  bucaniers. 

The  men  coming  back  the  same  evening,  they  sailed  again  for  the 
Island  of  Plata,  and  anchored  on  the  2Gth  of  September,  immediately 
sending  some  of  the  men  to  Manta,  an  Indian  village  three  leagues  west 
of  Cape  Lorenzo.  The  inhabitants,  perceiving  their  approach,  fled  fronfi 
the  town,  except  two  decrepid  old  women,  who  declared  the  viceroy, 
having  heard  that  a  number  of  men  had  marched  over-land  through  Darien 
to  the  South  Seas,  had  ordered  the  ships  to  be  burnt,  the  goats  on  the 
Island  of  Plata  to  be  destroyed,  and  no  provisions  kept  there  but  what 
was  wanted  for  immediate  uso. 

As  the  alarm  which  had  been  spread  through  the  country  prevented 
their  finding  any  booty,  ^hcy  returnfed  on  board,  and  the  next  day  sailed 
back  to  the  Island  of  Plata,  where  having  waited  till  the  2d  of  October, 
and  being  undetermined  what  course  to  take,  they  were  then  joined  by 
Captain  Swan,  in  the  Cygnet.  This  ship  was  from  London,  on  a  tra- 
ding voyage,  but  having  met  with  many  disappointments,  his  men  had 
forced  him  to  take  on  board  a  party  of  bucaniers,  who  had  travelled  over 
the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Peter  Harris,  who, 
having  a  small  bark,  and  being  now  three  in  company,  they  earnestly 
wished  to  meet  with  Captain  Eaton,  as  they  hoped,  with  such  a  force,  to 
be  able  to  uiidertake  an  expedition  of  some  consequence.  The  hark  was 
therefore  immediately  sent  in  search  of  him,  with  a  letter  of  invitation 
to  share  thoir  fortune  ;  but  she  did  not  meet  him,  he  having  lately  quitted 
those  seas,  as  it  was  imagined,  for  the  East  Indies  ;  a  scheme  which  he 
had  for  a  long  tinic  proposed  to  execute. 

The  bark,  however,  which  had  b6en  three  days  cruising,  took  a  prize 
of  400  tons,  laden  with  timber,  bound  from  Guaquil  to  Lima  ;  the  master 
of  which  said  the  viceroy  of  Peru  was  fittir.g  out  ten  frigates  to  drive 
them  out  of  those  seas.  This  news,  though  disagreeable,  did  not  discou- 
rage them  from  making  a  descent  upon  Payta,  where,  on  the  3d  of  Novem- 
ber, they  landed  110  men,  and  havhig  seized  upon  the  town,  kept  posses- 
sion of  it  for  several  daysy  in  hopes  the  inhabitants  would  have  redeemed 
it  ;  but  that  not  being  done,  they  set  it  on  fire,  and  retired  to  the  ships. 

The  captains  had  offered  to  spare  the  town  for  300  sacks  of  flour,  3,000 
pounds  of  sugar,  35  jars  of  wine,  and  1,000  jnrs  of  water;  but  these 
moderate  conditions  were  slighted. 


64  Voyages  round  the  wgrl6. 

They  left  the  Bay  of  Payta  on  the  10th  of  November,  at  night,  and 
arrived  at  Lobos  de  la  Mar  on  the  10th,  where  the  Mosquito  men  struck 
a  great  number  of  turtle.  Here  they  came  to  a  resolution  of  attacking 
Guaquil,  which  is  situated  in  a  bay  of  the  same  name,  between  Cape 
Blanco  on  the  south  and  Point  Chandy  on  the  north  ;  and  at  the  bottom 
of  the  bay  lies  a  small  island,  shaped  like  a  dead  man  in  a  shroud,  called 
St.  Clara. 

Having  heretofore  had  a  design  against  Guaquil,  they  left  the  ships 
at  Cape  Blanco,  and  steered  with  a  bark  and  some  canoes  to  the  Isle  of 
St.  Clara,  and  thence  in  two  canoes  to  Point  Arena,  where  they  the  next 
day  took  some  of  the  fishermen  of  Puna,  and  afterward  seized  the  town. 
On  the  ebb  they  look  a  bark  coming  from  Guaquil,  laden  wiih  Quito 
cloth,  from  the  master  of  which  they  learned  there  were  three  barks  full 
of  negroes  coming  with  the  next  tide. 

Leaving  five  men  on  board  the  prize,  they  embarked  all  the  rest  in 
canoes,  and  proceeded  toward  Guaquil,  but  the  canoes  being  heavily 
laden,  it  was  break  of  day  before  they  got  within  two  leagues  of  the  town  ; 
whereupon  they  hid  themselves  all  day  in  a  neighbouring  creek,  and  sent 
one  of  the  canoes  back  to  the  bark,  with  orders  not  to  fire  at  anything 
till  next  day.  Before  they  arrived  with  these  directions,  two  barks  filled 
with  negroes  coming  out  of  the  harbour  with  the  evening  tide,  and  falling 
down  with  the  ebb  toward  Puna,  coming  within  sight  of  the  English,  they 
fired  three  guns  at  them  ;  which  put  these  in  the  canoes  in  great  conster- 
nation, not  doubting  but  the  people  of  the  town  had  taken  the  alarm. 
Some  of  the  company  were  now  for  advancing  to  the  town  immediately, 
and  others  for  returning  to  ihe  ships  ;  but  as  the  ebb  tide  prevented  their 
going  upward,  Captain  Davis,  with  fifty  of  his  men,  determined  to  march 
by  land  to  the  place  ;  the  rest,  judging  it  impossible  to  succeed,  conti* 
nued  in  the  creek  to  wait  the  event. 

After  an  absence  of  four  hours.  Captain  Davis  and  his  men,  being 
almost  choked  among  the  mangrove  woods,  which  grew  in  the  marshes, 
and  finding  it  impossible  to  go  forward,  returned.  It  was  then  determined 
to  row  up  within  sight  of  the  town,  and,  if  they  found  themselves  dis- 
covered, to  retire  without  attempting  to  land ;  therefore,  rowing  through 
the  north-east  channel,  they  got  within  view  of  the  town  during  the  night ; 
when,  on  a  sudden,  at  the  discharge  of  a  musket,  they  perceived  the 
whole  place  to  be  full  of  lights,  and  as  they  had  seen  but  one  before,  they 
certainly  concluded  that  they  were  discovered  ;  but  several  of  them 
observing  that  the  Spaniards  used  lights  on  the  evenings  preceding  their 
festivals,  and  that  the  ne.'ct  was  a  holyday,  they  upbraided  Captain  Swan 
and  his  men  with  cowardice. 

On  this,  all  the  party  landed  at  a  place  about  two  miles  from  the  townj 
which  being  over-run  with  woods,  they  were  forced  to  wait  for  day-light ; 
when,  having  an  Indian  guide,  whom  they  had  taken  three  days  beforej 
a  cord  was  tied  to  him,  and  he  was  led  by  one  of  Captain  Davis's  men, 
who  seemed  one  of  the  most>forward  in  the  enterprise  ;  but  now,  perhaps, 
beginning  to  repent  his  rashness,  cut  the  rope,  and  let  the  Indian  escape 
into  the,  town.  When  he  thought  the  fellow  was  at  a  proper  dista:ice, 
he  cried  out  that  somebody  had  cut  the  rope  ;  when  the  company,  having 
searched  in  vain  for  the  fugitive,  determined  to  abandon  the  enterprise  ; 
however,  they  landed  on  the  opposite  shore,  and  killed  a  cow,  which  was 
dressed  and  ate,  undisturbed  by  the  inhabitants. 

On  the  9th  of  December  returning  to  Puna,  on  their  way  took  the  two 
barks  above-mentioned,  and  finding  a  thousand  negroes  on  board,  kept 


WILLIAM  DAMPIER.  65 

about  sixty,  and  left  the  rest,  with  the  barks,  behind,  and  soon  saw  ihsm 
make  the  shore.  Mr.  Dampier  seems  of  opinion  that  this  was  a  very 
impohtic  proceeding,  and  that  if  they  had  taken  these  people  directly 
over  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  they  might  have  been  able  to  have  worked 
the  gold  mines  of  St.  Maria  ;  an  undertaking  which  would  have  been  so 
well  supported  by  the  English  and  French  privateers  from  all  parts  of 
the  West  Indies,  that  they  might  have  been  able  to  have  stood  their  ground 
against  all  the  power  of  Spain  in  that  part  of  the  world  ;  and  in  time 
have  been  strong  enough  to  have  extended  their  conquests  to  the  wealthy 
gold  mines  of  the  province  of  Quito, 

Settiiig  sail  on  the  13th,  in  three  days  arrived  at  La  Plata,  on  their 
way  to  which  they  met  the  bark  which  had  been  sent  in  search  of  Cap- 
.ain  Eaton,  of  whom  they  had  got  no  intelligence.  Here  they  divided 
the  cloth  which  they  had  taken  on  board  the  bark  ;  and  having  supplied 
themselves  with  fresh  water,  resolved  to  steer  for  Lavelia,  a  town  m  the 
Bay  of  Panama. 

Accordingly  they  sailed  on  the  23d,  and  the  next  morning  passed  in 
sight  of  Cape  Passao,  a  high  round  point,  covered  with  fruit  trees  on 
the  land  side,  but  bare  taward  the  sea.  Between  this  and  Cape  Fran- 
cisco are  abundance  of  small  points,  full  of  various  kinds  of  trees,  which 
enclose  so  many  sandy  creeks. 

As  iheir  design  was  to  search  for  canoes  in  some  river  unfrequented 
by  the  Spaniards,  they  endeavoured  to  make  the  Island  of  St.  Jago,  on 
account  of  its  vicinity  to  the  Isle  of  Gallo,  where  there  was  safe  anchor- 
age for  the  ships,  and  gold  in  great  plenty. 

The  River  of  St.  Jago  is  large  and  navigable  ;  about  seven  leagues 
from  the  sea  it  divides  into  two  branches,  surrounding  a  large  island,  the 
mould  of  which  is  of  a  deep  black,  producing  a  number  of  tall  trees, 
among  which  the  largest  are  the  cabbage  tree,  and  those  of  red  and 
white  cotton. 

The  cabbage  is  the  tallest,  and  Mr.  Dampier  measured  one  that  was 
120  feet  long.  It  has  no  branches  but  near  the  top,  where  they  sprout 
out  to  the  length  of  twelve  or  fourteen  feet,  covered  with  small  long 
leaves,  in  such  regular  order,  that  at  a  distance  they  appear  but  as  one 
leaf.  In  the  middle  of  these  branches  grows  the  fruit,  which  is  as  big  as 
a  man's  leg,  about  a  foot  long,  as  white  as  milk,  and  very  sweet,  whether 
eaten  raw  or  boiled.  As  soon  as  the  head  is  gone  the  tree  dies ;  for 
which  reason  they  cut  it  down  to  gather  the  fruit.  Between  the  cab- 
bage and  the  branches  many  small  twigs  sprout  forth,  about  two  feet 
long,  at  the  end  of  which  grow  hard  round  berries,  about  the  size  of  a 
cherry,  which,  falling  once  a  year,  afford  e5cellen^food  for  the  hogs.  The 
body  of  the  tree  is  full  of  round  rings  from  top  to  bottom,  about  half  a 
foot  asunder  ;  the  bark  is  thin  and  brittle,  the  wood  black  and  hard,  and 
there  is  a  white  pith  in  the  middle  of  the  tree.  The  pleasing  verdure  of 
these  trees  is  a  great  ornament  to  the  grove,  and  they  are  much  used  by 
the  planters  of  Jamaica. 

The  continual  rains  which  fall  in  this  part  of  Peru,  added  to  the  natu- 
ral ferocity  of  the  inhabitants,  which  it  appears  impossible  to  tame,  have 
prevented  the  Spaniards  from  making  any  considerable  discoveries  on  this 
coast ;  and  the  people  bear  so  mortal  a  hatred  to  the  Spaniards,  and  are 
so  jealous  of  all  other  Europeans,  that  whoever  attempts  to  row  up  the 
river  must  lie  exposed  to  their  ambuscades  on  each  side  ;  and  th«y  are 
such  excellent  marksmen  that  their  arrows  seldom  miss  their  aim. 

Notwithstanding  these  dangers,  Dampier  and  some  others  ventured 
6* 


66  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

to  row  six  leagues  up  the  river,  till  they  came  to  two  huts,  ^vhere  they 
found  a  hog,  which  appeared  to  be  of  the  European  kind,  and  some  fowls 
and  plantains,  which  they  dressed  and  fed  very  heartily  upon  ;  while  tho 
poor  Indians  who  owned  them,  seeing  their  approach,  Look  their  wives 
and  children  into  canoes,  and  paddled  away  with  such  expedition,  that 
there  was  no  possibility  of  following  them. 

On  the  opposite  side  they  saw  many  huts,  which,  like  these,  were  covered 
with  Palmetto  leaves,  but  the  stream  being  very  rapid,  they  were  afraid 
to  venture  farther  up  ;  so  that  after  a  day's  exicursion  they  returned  to 
their  ships,  which  were  stationed  off  Gallo,  a  small  uninhabited  island, 
about  three  leagues  from  the  mouth  of  the  River  Tomaco,  and  four  and  a 
half  from  an  Indian  village  of  the  same  name.  At  twelve  o'clock  on  the 
following  night  they  made  a  descent,  and  going  into  one  of  the  houses, 
seized  upon  all  the  inhabitants,  among  whom  was  Don  Diego  de  Pinas, 
a  Spanish  knight,  who  was  come  thither  to  load  timber  ;  but  finding 
nothing  in  the  vessel  that  brought  him  but  thirteen  jars  of  wine,  they 
took  them  out,  and  turned  the  vessel  adrift. 

While  proceeding  in  canoes  from  Tomaco  toward  Gallo,  on  the  1st 
of  January,  1685,  they  seized  a  Spanish  packet-boat  going  from  Panama 
to  Lima,  by  which  they  learned  that  the  Armada  was  arrived  from  Spain 
at  Porto  Bello,  where  it  waited  for  the  Plate  fleet  from  Lima  :  on  this 
they  changed  their  resolution  of  going  to  Lavelia,  resolving  to  rendezvous 
among  the  King's  or  Pearl  islands,  by  which  the  ships,  bound  from  Lima 
to  Panama,  must  necessarily  pass. 

The  Pearl  islands  are  numerous,  low,  and  v/oody  ;  seven  leagues  from 
the  continent,  and  twelve  from  Panama.  Dampier  says,  that  though  in 
the  maps  they  are  called  Pearl  islands,  he  could  not  find  one  pearl  oyster 
near  them.  Tho  most  northern  island  is  called  Pachea  or  Pacheque, 
and  St.  Paul's  is  the  most  southernly  :  all  the  rest,  though  large,  having  no 
names.  The  negroes  who  belong  to  the  inhabitants  of  Panama  have 
planted  some  of  these  islands  with  plantains,  bananas,  and  rice.  The 
channel  between  them  and  the  continent  is  seven  or  eight  leagues  broad, 
of  a  moderate  depth,  and  has  good  anchoring  all  along  it  ;  and  though  the 
islands  lie  close  together,  there  are  good  chanels  between  them,  proper 
for  boats. 

Having  sent  their  barks  on  a  cruise  toward  Panama,  they  returned  on 
the  fourth  day  with  a  prize,  laden  with  maize,  salted  beef,  and  fowls. 
They  found  abundance  of  oysters  in  the  harbour,  together  with  muscles, 
limpets,  and  clams,  which  last  are  a  kind  of  oysters  that  cling  so  close 
to  the  rocks  that,  to  be  eaten,  they  must  be  opened  on  the  spot.  They 
also  found  turtle-doves  and  pigeons  here. 

The  ships  being  well  careened  by  the  14th  of  February,  they  took  in 
wood  and  water,  and  .<?ailed  out  among  the  islands,  where,  on  the  IGth, 
they  anchored  within  a  league  of  the  Island  of  Pacheque,  and  on  the  ISth 
steered,  with  a  north-east  wind,  directly  toward  Panama,  anchoring  oppo- 
site Old  Panama,  once  a  place  of  considerable  consequence,  but  the 
greatest  part  being  laid  in  ashes  by  Sir  Henry  Morgan  in  1673,  it  was 
never  rebuilt. 

New  Pi'.nama,  which  stands  on  the  river -side,  four  leagues  from  the  old 
town,  is  a  handsome  city,  watered  by  several  rivers,  some  of  which  have 
gold  in  them,  and  run  into  the  bay.  The  houses  are  chiefly  of  brick  ; 
and  with  the  churches,  monasteries,  and  president's  house,  make  the  best 
appearance  of  any  buildings  he  saw  in  that  coanliy.  This  place  has  a 
view  of  many  pleasant  islands,  and  from  the  variety  of  hills,  valleys,  groves, 


WILLIAM   DAMPIER.  67 

and  plains  around  it,  affords  a  most  enchanting  prospect  from  the  sea. 
It  is  encompassed  by  a  high  stone  wall,  on  which  a  number  of  guns  are 
mounted,  which  formerly  were  placed  only  on  the  land  side,  but  now  are 
also  planted  toward  the  ocean. 

The  city  has  a  vast  trade,  being  the  staple  for  all  goods  to  and  from 
all  parts  of  Peru  and  Chili  ;  besides  that,  every  three  years,  when  thn 
Spanish  ships  go  to  Porto  Bello,  the  Plate  fleet  comes  hither  with  the 
king's  plate,  as  vyell  as  what  belongs  to  the  merchants,  whence  it  is  car- 
ried by  mules  to  Porto  Bello  ;  and  at  that  time  everything  seemed  ex- 
cessively dear. 

On  the  20th  of  March  they  anchored  about  a  league  from  the  Perico 
islands,  and  on  the  21st  another  prize  fell  into  their  hands,  laden  with 
hogs,  beef,  fowls,  and  salt,  from  Lavelia. 

Three  days  after  taking  this  vessel,  they  steered  for  Tobago,  an  island 
in  the  Bay  of  Panama,  three  miles  long  and  one  broad,  the  soil  of  which 
produces  plenty  of  plantains  and  bananas,  together  with  cocoa  and  mam- 
mee  trees;  which  last  are  sixty  or  seventy  feet  high,  without  knots  or 
boughs,  except  at  the  top,  where  some  small  branches  sprout  out,  thick, 
and  close  together  ;  the  fruit  is  of  the  bigness  of  a  large  quince  ;  round, 
and  covered  with  a  gray  rind,  which,  before  it  is  ripe,  is  brittle  ;  but 
when  come  to  maturity,  turns  yellow,  and  will  peel  with  ease.  The  ripe 
fruit  has  an  agreeable  smell  and  taste,  and  has  two  rough  stones  in  the 
middle,  each  of  which  is  about  the  size  of  a  large  almond.  The  south- 
west side  of  this  island  is  covered  with  trees  and  fire-wood,  and  on  the 
north  side  there  is  a  fine  fresh  water  spring,  which  falls  into  the  sea. 
Here  was  formerly  a  handsome  church,  but  it  has  been  destroyed  by  the 
bucaniers  ;  and  to  the  north-west  lies  a  small  town  called  Tobagilla,  near 
which  they  came  to  an  anchor  on  the  25th,  and  had  like  to  have  been 
destroyed  by  a  pretended  trader,  who,  under  a  show  of  trading  privately 
with  them,  instead  of  bringing  his  bark  in  the  night  laden  with  merchan- 
dise, advanced  toward  them  in  a  fire-ship.  Some  of  the  people  suspect- 
ing his  design,  fired  upon  the  vessel,  whereupon  those  who  attended  her 
took  to  their  boats,  and  the  English  cutting  their  cables  to  avoid  her,  she 
blew  up  without  doing  any  damage  ;  at  the  same  time  a  small  float  which 
was  in  sight,  guided  by  one  man,  and  was  supposed  to  be  a  compound  of 
combustibles  designed  to  lay  hold  of  their  rudder,  also  disappeared., 

These  engines  are  said  to  have  been  contrived  by  Captain  Bond,  who 
formerly  deserted  to  the  Spaniards,  for  without  his  assistance  they  could 
not  have  fitted  out  a  fire-ship  ;  the  ignorance  of  the  Spaniards  in  the 
South  Seas,  in  maritime  affairs,  being  altogether  astonishing  ;  and  it  is 
common  for  the  vessels  there  to  be  manned  with  Indians,  having  only 
one  Spaniard  on  board,  who  is  the  commander. 

On  the  morning  of  the  23th  they  were  joined  by  200  English  and 
80  French  bucaniers,  who  came  from  the  North  Sea  over  the  Isthmus 
of  Darien.  The  English  were  taken  on  board  by  Captains  Davis  and 
Swan,  and  the  rest  put  into  the  prize  they  had  taken,  loaded  with  flour, 
imder  the  command  of  a  Frenchman  called  Captain  Gronet,  who  offered 
Davis  and  Swan  each  a  commission  from  the  governor  of  Petit  Guave. 
Swan  having  a  commission  from  the  Duke  of  York  refused,  but  Davis 
accepted  it. 

With  this  reinforcement,  they  set  sail  on  the  2d  of  March,  toward  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Michael,  in  search  of  Captain  To.vnley,  who  was  said  to  be 
crossing  the  isthmus  with  180  men,  and  came  up  with  him  next  day 
among  the  Pearl  islands.     Townley  had  t;\ken  two  barks,  one  laden  with 


68  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

sugar  and  the  other  flour,  and  some  jars  of  wine  and  brandy,  which  lie 
divided  among  the  men  belonging  to  Davis  and  Swan,  as  he  wanted  the 
jars  to  fill  with  water.  In  search  of  this,  as  it  was  the  dry  season,  they 
steered  to  Point  Garachina,  where  the  natives  gave  refreshments  ;  l)ut 
meeting  v-'ith  no  water  they  stood  for  Port  Pines,  so  called  from  the 
great  number  of  pines  which  grow  on  the  shore  But  the  sea  ran  so 
high  that  the  boats  could  not  land,  on  which  they  steered  for  Tobago, 
and  in  their  course  fell  in  with  four  Indians  and  a  mulatto  in  a  canoe, 
who,  having  been  on  board  the  fire-ship  that  was  sent  to  burn  Captain 
Davis's  vessel,  were  immediately  hanged. 

While  employed  in  taking  in  v^'ood  and  water  at  the  Island  of  Perico, 
at  v/hich  {ilace  they  cast  anchor  on  the  3d  of  April,  they  sent  four  canoes 
to  the  continent  to  gpt  sugar  in  the  adjacent  sugar-works,  to  make  up 
their  cocoa  into  chocolate,  and  to  get  some  copper  kettles,  which,  as 
their  numbers  were  considerably  increased,  were  much  wanted  for  the 
boiling  of  provisions. 

In  the  interim  Captain  Davis  sent  his  bark  to  the  Island  of  Oroque, 
in  the  Bay  of  Panama,  which  is  inhabited  by  a  few  negroes,  who  breed' 
fowls  and  hogs  ;  here  they  found  a  messenger,  who  was  despatched  to 
Panama  with  an  account  that  the  Lima  fleet  had  sailed.  Most  of  the 
letters  had  been  thrown  into  the  sea,  but  from  the  rest  they  learned  the 
fl^et  was  coming  under  a  convoy,  consisting  of  all  such  ships  as  they  had 
been  able  to  get  together  from  Peru.  Being  informed  by  the  pilot  that 
the  king's  ships  always  came  that  way,  they  sailed  back  to  the  Pearl 
islands  on  the  iOth,  and  on  the  22d  arrived  at  Chepelio,  one  of  the  ploa- 
santest  islands  in  the  Bay  of  Panama,  though  but  a  mile  in  length,  and 
not  quite  so  broad. 

On  the  24th  the  250  men,  who  had  been  sent  to  this  place,  returned, 
having  taken  it  without  opposition  ;  but  found  nothing  worth  mentioning. 

Captain  Harris  joining  on  the  25th,  they  sailed  the  next  day  for  Tobago, 
where  they  arrived  on  the  28th,  and  having  some  thoughts  of  making  an 
attempt  upon  Panama,  examined  some  prisoners  as  to  its  strength.  But 
though  now  mustering  1000  men,  they  wer^  diverted  from  the  attempt 
on  being  informed  that  the  inhabitants  had  been  greatly  reinforced  from 
Porto  13ello,  and  that  the  height  of  the  walls  and  the  strength  of  the 
place  were  very  considerable. 

They  sailed  again  for  the  Pearl  islands  on  the  4th  of  May,  and  cruised 
till  the  22d,  when  they  sent  three  canoes  to  the  Island  of  Chepelio  to  take 
some  prisoners  ;  who  returned  on  the  25th  with  three  seamen  of  Panama, 
who  informed  them  that  a  strict  order  had  been  issued  there  not  to  fetch 
any  plantains  from  the  adjacent  islands,  which  had  occasioned  a  great  scar- 
city ;  and  that  the  arrival  of  the  fleet  from  I^ima  was  every  day  expected. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  Island  of  Pacheque  are  two  or  three  small 
islands,  between  which  the  fleet  lay  at  anchor,  and  then  consisted  of  ten 
sail,  two  of  which  only  were  men-of-war.  Captain  Davis's  ship  carried 
thirty-nine  guns  and  156  men ;  Captain  Swan's,  sixteen  guns  and  140 
men.  The  rest  were  provided  only  with  small  arms,  and  they  mustered 
in  all  960  men  ;  they  had  also  one  fire-ship. 

About  eleven  o'clock  the  weather,  which  had  been  very  bad,  beginning 
to  clear  up,  they  discovered  the  Spanish  fleet  at  the  distance  of  three 
leagues  ;  and  about  three  in  the  afternoon  bore  down  right  upon  the 
Spaniards,  who  kept  close  on  a  wind,  to  come  up  with  them  ;  but  night 
coming  on  before  they  came  to  close  quarters,  they  could  only  exchange  a 
few  shot,  one  of  which  took  effect,  and  Idlled  a  man  in  one  of  the  privateers 


WILLIAM  DAMPIER.  C. 

When  it  began  to  grow  dark,  the  admiral  put  out  a  light  at  his  top,  a 
a  signal  for  the  fleet  co  come  to  an  anchor,  which  they  took  down  agaii: 
in  about  half  an  hour,  but  it  soon  appeared  as  before.  The  English, 
supposing  it  to  be  in  the  admiral's  top,  and  being  to  the  windward,  kept 
under  sail,  but  found  themselves  deceived  in  their  expectations,  by  a 
stratagem  contrived  by  the  Spaniards  ;  who,  having  put  this  second  light 
on  the  top-mast  head  of  one  of  their  barks,  sent  her  to  the  leeward  ;  so 
that  in  the  morning  the  English  found  that  the  enemy  had  the  weather- 
gage  of  them,  and  coming  up  with  a  full  sail,  they  were  obliged  to  make 
a  running  fight  cf  it  all  the  next  day,  almost  round  the  Bay  of  Panama  ; 
and  in  the  end  they  anchored  under  the  Isle  of  Pacheque. 

Captain  Townley  being  hard  passed  by  the  enemy,  was  forced  to  make 
a  bold  run  through  the  channel  between  Pacheque  and  three  adjacent 
islands.  Captain  Harris  was  forced  from  them  during  the  fight ;  and 
Captain  Gronet,  with  308  men,  in  the  flour  prize,  of  ninety  tons  burthen, 
kept  at  a  distance  while  there  was  any  appearance  of  danger  ;  for  which 
it  was  the  next  day  agreed  to  dismiss  him  with  his  men,  most  of  whom 
where  French  ;  and  permitting  him  to  keep  the  ship,  he  was  ordered  to 
leave  the  company  immediately. 

Though  the  Spanish  fleet  consisted  of  fourteen  sail,  besides  periagnas, 
or  boats  of  twelve  or  fourteen  oars,  yet  the  English  had  but  one  man 
killed.  The  loss  of  the  Spaniards  is  not  known  ;  and  it  is  thought  that 
if  Gronet  had  continued  firm,  they  might  easily  have  made  themselves 
masters  of  the  fleet  and  its  treasure. 

The  whole  fleet  set  sail  from  Pacheque  on  the  1st  of  June,  for  the 
Isle  of  Quibo,  in  search  of  Captain  Harris,  whom  they  expected  to  meet 
there,  as  it  was  the  place  of  general  rendezvous,  and  he  was  accordingly 
there  before  their  arrival.  It  was  now  immediately  agreed  that,  as  they 
had  been  unsuccessful  in  their  late  attempt,  they  would  try  their  fortune 
by  land,  by  attacking  the  city  of  Leon,  on  the  coast  of  Mexico. 

This  town  stands  twenty  miles  up  the  country,  in  a  plain  ;  the  houses, 
which  have  large  gardens,  are  ouilt  of  stone,  and  covered  with  pantiles  : 
it  has  a  cathedral  and  five  churches,  and  from  the  pleasantness  of  its  situ- 
ation, some  travellers  have  called  it  the  Paradise  of  the  West  Indies. 
Near  it  is  a  high  volcano,  which,  at  times,  casts  forth  smoke  and  flames, 
and  may  be  seen  from  the  sea :  it  has  a  good  manufactory  of  hemp,  is 
rich  in  sugar,  pasturage,  and  cattle  ;  but  is  a  place  of  no  great  trade. 

They  began  their  march  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  Captain 
Townley,  with  100  of  the  best  men,  leading  the  van  :  Captain  Swan 
followed  him  with  100  more ;  and  Captains  Knight  and  Davis  brought 
up  the  rear  with  170. 

Captain  Townley  was  attacked,  on  his  entering  the  town,  by  a  party  of 
200  Spanish  horse  and  500  foot ;  but  two  or  three  of  the  principal  officers 
being  dismounted,  the  horse  fled,  and  the  foot  seeing  them  retire  follow- 
ed thei>"  example,  abandoning  the  city  to  the  mercy  of  the  enemy.  In 
about  four  hours  all  the  English  entered  the  town,  except  a  few,  who, 
being  tired,  were  left  upon  the  road  ;  among  these  was  an  old  gray- 
headed  fellow,  of  the  name  of  Swan,  who  had  served  under  Oliver  Crom- 
well in  Ireland,  and  was  eighty-four  years  of  age.  On  his  absolutely 
refusing  to  take  quarter,  the  Spaniards  shot  him  dead  ;  but  they  took 
several  other  prisoners,  among  whom  was  one  Mr.  Smith,  who,  having 
lived  in  the  Canaries,  spoke  the  Spanish  tongue  fluently.  Smith  being 
carried  before  the  governor,  and  examined  with  regard  tjo  the  strength  of 
the  invaders,  represented  them  to  be  1500  men  1000  in  the  town  and 


70  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

500  in  canoes  ;  which  well-timed  piece  of  deceit  had  such  an  effect  upon 
his  excellency,  that  though  he  was  at  the  head  of  more  than  1000  men, 
he  did  not  choose  to  attack  the  enemy,  but  sent  a  flag  of  truce  the  next 
day  to  propose  a  ransom  for  the  town.  But  the  EngHsh  demanding 
provisions  for  1000  men  for  four  months,  and  30,000  pieces  of  eight,  he 
did  not  choose  to  comply  with  the  demand  ;  and  therefore  they  fired  the 
city  on  the  1,4th  of  August,  the  next  morning  inarching  toward  their 
canoes. 

A  gentleman,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner,  was  delivered  back  in  ex- 
change for  Mr.  Smith,  and  a  Spanish  gentleman  was  released,  on  pro- 
mising to  deliver  150  oxen  at  Rio  Leja,  where  they  intended  to  make  their 
next  attempt. 

They  rowed  in  their  canoes  toward  Rio  Leja  on  the  16th  of  August, 
where  their  ships  were  by  that  time  come  to  an  anchor.  This  is  a 
beautiful  place,  seated  a  mile  from  the  harbour,  on  the  mouth  of  a  river, 
on  a  small  plain,  and  has  three  churches,  and  an  hospital  with  a  handsome 
garden  to  it ;  but  is  situated  in  an  unwholesome  air,  near  some  fens  and 
marshes,  which  occasion  a  noxious  smell. 

The  creek  that  leads  from  Rio  Leja  has  a  broad  entrance,  but  afterward 
closes  into  a  narrow,  deep  channel  covered  on  both  sides  with  cocoa 
trees,  A  mile  from  the  entrance  of  the  creek  it  winds  to  the  west,  where 
the  Spaniards  cast  up  an  entrenchment,  which  was  defended  by  120  men, 
and  farther  down  had  laid  a  boom  of  trees  across  the  creek ;  but  as 
soon  as  the  English  had  fired  two  guns  the  Spaniards  quilted  their  post, 
and  left  the  enemy  to  take  the  town,  which  they  did  without  opposition. 
They  here  found  only  empty  houses,  except  five  hundred  sacks  of  flour, 
some  pitch,  tar,  cordage,  and  some  sugar  in  the  neighbourhood,  together 
with  the  hundred  and  fifty  oxen  which  had  been  promised  by  the  Spanish 
gentleman  whom  they  released  at  Leon.  The  bucaniers  staid  here  a 
week,  and  then  set  fire  to  the  town,  though  Mr.  Dampier  declares  himself 
Ignorant  by  whose  order  it  was  done. 

On  the  25th  of  August,  Davis  and  Swan  parted,  the  former  being  de- 
termined to  try  his  fortune  on  the  coast  of  Peru,  and  the  latter  proposing 
to  proceed  farther  to  the  west. 

Captains  Knight  and  Harris  went  with  Davis,  and  our  author  on  board 
Captain  Swan,  who  was  joined  by  Captain  Townley  with  his  two  barks. 

About  this  time  they  all  suffered  very  considerably  by  a  malignant 
fever,  which  carried  off  many  of  the  men,  and  was  supposed  to  be  the 
remains  of  a  fever  contracted  at  Rio  Leja. 

On  the  27th,  Davis  sailed  out  of  the  harbour,  Swan  complimenting 
him  with  fifteen  guns,  which  he  answered  by  eleven. 

Swan  and  Townley  sailed  on  the  3d  of  September,  with  340  men, 
steering  westward,  having  bad  weather  all  along  the  coast,  together  v/ith 
thunder  and  lightning,  which  kept  them  at  sea  till  the  14th,  when  they 
discovered  the  volcano  of  Guatimala,  a  high  forked  hill,  which,  before 
bad  weather,  generally  emits  smoke  and  flames.  It  derives  its  name  from 
the  city  of  Guatimala,  which  stands  at  its  foot,  eight  leagues  from  the 
South  Sea,  and  forty  or  fifty  from  the  Gulf  of  Matique  in  the  Bay  of  Hon- 
duras, in  the  north  seas.  It  is  esteemed  a  rich  city,  the  country  round 
abounding  in  several  commodities,  which  are  exported  thence  into  Europe, 
especially  the  four  useful  dyes,  cochineal,  Sylvester,  annatta,  and  indigo. 
The  sea  is  full  of  drift  wood  and  pumice  stones,  even  at  some  leagues 
distance  from  Gpatimala,  which  are  supposed  to  be  brought  down  from 
the  mountain  by  the  frequent  and  violent  rains. 


WILLIAM  DAMPIER.  71 

On  the  24th,  being  in  fourteen  degrees  and  thirteen  minutes  north  lati- 
tude, Captain  Townley  went  on  shore,  taking  with  him  nine  canoes  and  106 
men,  proposing  to  inarch  to  a  town  called  Teguantapeque,  situated  some- 
where in  the  "neighbourhood,  in  hopes  to  have  procured  some  provision 
for  the  sick  men,  as  great  numbers  of  the  crev/  were  in  a  very  weak 
condition.  Not  being  able  to  find  the  town.  Captain  Townley  returned 
on  board  the  2d  of  October  ;  but  being  determined  to  try  his  fortune 
once  more,  he  ran  his  canoes  ashore  in  a  sandy  bay,  where  he  landed 
with  the  loss  of  one  man  and  most  of  his  powder  spoiled  by  the  canoea 
oversetting  ;  and  was  no  sooner  on  shore,  than  he  was  attacked  by  a  part;; 
of  200  Indians  and  Spaniards,  whom,  with  some  diHiculty,  he  repulsed. 

Having  again  joined  Captain  Swan,  they  set  sail  with  fair  weather,  and 
the  wind  at  east-north-east,  keeping  a  westward  course,  and  having  run 
about  twenty  leagues,  they  came  to  the  Island  of  I'angola,  where  there 
is  a  good  anchorage,  with  plenty  of  wood  and  water.  Sailing  thence  one 
league  farther,  they  came  to  the  Port  of  Guatulco,  one  of  the  best  in  the 
kingdom  of  Mexico.  About  a  mile  from  the  cast  side  of  the  harbour  is 
a  small  island  ;  but  the  west  side  is  the  safest  for  shipping,  affording 
shelter  from  the  south-west  winds,  which  are  frequently  violent,  the 
water  dashing  furiously  under  the  bottom  of  a  rock,  which  it  has  under- 
mined, and  which  is  perforated  quite  through,  forming,  even  in  the  calm- 
est season,  a  natural  jet  d'eau  ;  and  affording  a  good  mark  to  seamen 
bound  for  this  port.  At  the  bottom  of  this  harbour,  which  is  a  mile 
broad,  and  three  miles  in  depth,  there  is  a  fine  brook  of  fresh  water,  near 
which  formerly  stood  a  town  sacked  by  Sir  Francis  Drake  ;  all  that  re- 
mains of  which,  at  present,  is  an  old  chapel  standing  in  the  midst  of  a 
group  of  trees. 

Captain  Swan,  being  unwell,  went  on  shore  at  this  place  with  the  sick 
people  and  a  surgeon,  while  Townley  headed  a  party  who  marched  to 
the  eastward  in  search  of  houses  and  inhabitants  ;  and  at  a  league  from 
Guatulco  came  to  a  river  called  Capulita,  which  has  a  swift  current,  and 
is  very  deep.  Some  of  the  men  swimming  across  the  stream,  seized 
two  Indians,  whom  they  apprehended  were  placed  there  as  sentinels  to 
watch  their  proceedings,  though  these  were  unacquainted  with  the  Spa- 
nish tongue.  They  carried  one  on  board  the  ship,  and  made  use  of  the 
other  to  conduct  them  to  an  Indian  settlement,  where  they  found  plenty 
of  vinello,  a  perfume  used  in  the  West  Indies,  where  it  bears  a  high  price, 
to  infuse  into  chocolate,  to  which  it  gives  a  delicate  flavour.  It  is  a  pod 
of  four  inches  long,  full  of  black  seed,  arising  from  a  yellow  flower,  and 
produced  by  a  kind  of  vine  that  grows  up  the  trees  which  are  near  it, 
adhering  to  them  like  ivy. 

They  sent  four  canoes  to  the  westward  on  the  10th  of  October,  in 
hopes  of  taking  prisoners  who  had  some  knowledge  of  the  country.  The 
canoes  were  ordered  to  wait  at  Port  Angelo  for  the  ships,  which  on  the 
12th  left  the  harbour  of  Guatulco,  v/here  they  had  taken  in  wood  and 
water,  and  caught  a  considerable  number  of  small  turtle,  which,  as  they 
had  eaten  no  meat  for  a  considerable  time,  were  a  great  refreshment. 
Two  of  the  canoes  returned  on  the  22d,  being  separated  from  the  rest, 
and  having  attempted  to  land  at  a  place  where  they  saw  many  black  cattle 
feeding  upon  savannas  ;  but  the  sea  running  high,  they  were  overturned  ; 
four  g:ms  were  lost,  the  rest  of  the  arms  spoiled  with  the  water,  and  one 
man  drowned.  They  had  no  news  of  the  other  two  canoes  till  the  31st, 
when  Captain  Townley,  who  lay  near  the  shore,  hearing  thefiiring  of  guns, 
manned  one  of  his  canoes,  and  stood  in  for  the  land."  In  the  middle  of 


72  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

a  salt  water  lake,  at  a  distance  within  land,  he  saw  the  two  canoes  lying 
upon  their  oars,  and  perceiving  by  their  disposition  that  they  were  beset 
on  both  sides,  immediately  put  his  men  on  shore,  upon  the  approach  of 
whom,  some  Spaniards,  who  being  sheltered  by  the  rocks  had  fired  upon 
them,  took  to  their  heels,  leaving  the  passage  free  to  go  out  ;  but  they 
must  certainly  have  starved  or  fallen  a  prey  to  the  cruelty  of  the  enemy, 
if  Townley  had  not  relieved  them  in  this  timely  manner. 

Having  thus  recovered  their  canoes,  they  sailed  on  the  2d  of  November, 
and  held  a  westward  course,  till  they  arrived  at  a  large  river,  two  leagues 
from  the  rock  of  Algatross,  on  the  banks  of  which  the  Spaniards  had 
raised  a  breast-work,  which  was  defended  by  200  men,  notwithstanding 
which  the  English  landed  and  obliged  them  to  fly,  after  they  had  dis- 
charged twenty  or  thirty  guns  without  effect.  They  now  marched  about 
three  leagues  up  the  country,  and  having  taken  a  mulatto  prisoner,  he 
said  that  a  ship,  richly  laden,  was  lately  arrived  at  Lima  from  Acapulco  ; 
upon  which  Townley  proposed  cutting  her  out  of  the  harbour,  and  not- 
withstanding Captain  Swan's  remonstrances  on  the  danger  and  difficulty 
of  the  attempt,  and  his  representing  the  necessity  they  were  under  of 
supplying  themselves  with  maize  and  other  provisions,  which  abounded 
in  the  place  where  they  now  were,  he  carried  his  point ;  and  the  canoes 
were  accordingly  manned  for  the  expedition.  They,  however,  were  much 
damaged,  narrowly  escaping  being  lost  in  a  tornado,  and  were  afterward 
obliged  to  wait  a  whole  day  in  Port  Marquis,  a  league  to  the  eastward 
of  Acapulco.  Here  having  dried  their  clothes  and  arms,  they  rowed 
softly,  on  the  following  night,  into  the  harbour  of  Acapulco  ;  but  on  their 
arrival,  found  the  ship  so  well  guarded,  as  to  be  obliged  to  abandon  the 
enterprise,  and  return  in  a  very  desponding  condition. 

Landing  afterward  to  the  north-west  of  Pataplan  hill,  they  marched,  to 
the  number  of  170,  a  few  miles  up  the  country,  to  an  Indian  village,  in 
which  there  was  no  provisions,  nor  any  inhabitants  to  be  found  but  a  poor 
mulatto  woman  and  four  children,  whom  they  carried  aboard.  The  woman 
declared  that  a  number  of  mules,  laden  with  flour  and  other  goods,  de- 
signed for  Acapulco,  had  stopped  on  the  west  of  the  village  ;  upon  which 
information  they  sailed  ts  a  harbour  called  Chequetan,  where,  on  the  9th, 
they  landed  ninety-five  men,  who  having  the  woman  .for  their  guide,  con- 
ducted them  through  a  pathless  wood  into  a  plain,  near  which,  at  a  farm- 
house, they  found  sixty  mules  laden  with  flour,  cheese,  chocolate,  and 
earthen- ware  ;  all  of  which  were  carried  ofT  except  the  earthen-ware. 
They  also  discovered  plenty  of  black  cattle,  upon  which  Captain  Swan 
went  on  shore  and  killed  eighteen. 

Quitting  this  river  on  the  21st  of  November,  by  the  help  of  a  land 
wind  from  the  north,  continued  their  course,  in  hopes  of  discovering  the 
town  of  Cupan,  supposed  to  be  situated  in  about  18  degrees  north  latitude, 
but  they  could  neither  find  this  place  nor  the  city  of  Colina,  which  was 
said  to  be  very  rich.  They  now  rowed  twenty  leagues  along  shore,  but 
could  find  no  place  convenient  for  landing,  nor  the  least  sign  of  inhabi- 
tants ;  at  length  they  saw  a  man  on  horseback,  and  having  made  the 
shore  with  some  difficulty,  pursued  him,  but  soon  lost  sight  of  the  fugitive 
in  the  woods,  where  they  could  find  no  track. 

Disappointed  and  dejected,  they  returned  to  their  ships  on  the  28th, 
and  next  day  200  men  were  sent,  in  canoes  in  search  of  a  town  called 
Sallagua.  As  they  rowed  along,  saw  two  horsemen  on  shore,  one  of 
whom  drank  to  them  out  of  a  pocket-bottle  in  derision,  in  return  for  which 
one  of  the  canoes  fired  a  shot,  which  killed  the  horse  under  him  after 


WILLIAM  DAMPIER.  73 

which  his  companion  rode  off;  two  of  the  men  stripping,  swam  on  shore 
to  secure  the  dismounted  man,  but  defending  himself  with  a  long  knife, 
while  they  were  unarmed,  could  not  succeed  in  the  attempt. 

On  the  30th  returned  again  to  their  ships,  the  sea  running  too  high  to 
find  a  convenient  place  for  landing ;  but  on  the  1st  of  December  came 
in  sight  of  the  Port  of  Sallagua,  which  appears  like  two  harbours,  being 
parted  by  a  high  rocky  point  in  the  middle.  Here  they  saw  a  number  of 
Spaniards,  both  horse  and  foot,  who  made  a  military  parade,  with  drums 
beating  and  colours  flying  ;  but  200  of  the  bucaniers  landing  the  next 
morning,  the  foot  did  not  stand  a  single  charge,  and  the  horse  soon  fol- 
lowed. Two  of  the  English  having  knocked  two  Spaniards  off  their 
horses,  mounted  and  pursued  the  others  so  far  that  they  were  surrounded 
by  them ;  and  would  ha^'e  undoubtedly  been  killed,  if  some  of  the  swiftest 
of  their  companions  had  not  come  to  their  rescue  just  in  time  :  as  they 
had  stood  the  discharge  of  several  pistols,  and  were  already  unhorsed. 
Here  was  a  broad  stony  road,  which  they  were  informed  by  two  mulattoes, 
prisoners,  led  to  the  city  of  Oarrah,  distant  four  long  days'  journey,  the 
country  being  very  thin  of  inhabitants  all  the  way ;  and  that  the  troops 
they  had  put  to  flight  were  sent  from  that  city  to  secure  the  Manilla  ship 
which  was  to  set  some  passengers  on  shore  there. 

On  this  they  sailed  on  the  6th,  intending  to  cruise  off  Cape  Corientes, 
to  wait  for  the  ship ;  on  the  11th,  being  within  sight  of  the  cape,  they 
stationed  themselves  so  as  they  imagined  she  could  not  pass  ;  but  being 
in  want  of  provisions,  fifty  or  sixty  men  went  in  a  bark  to  procure  some, 
to  the  west  of  the  cape,  which  being  unable  to  get  round,  were  obliged 
to  return  ;  however,  they  left  some  men  behind  them  in  four  canoes,  who 
intended  to  row  to  the  west.  On  the  24th,  the  four  canoes  meeting  with 
very  indifferent  success,  returned  to  the  ships  near  the  cape,  having,  by 
the  help  of  their  canoes,  got  round  it  and  landed  in  the  Valderas,  or 
valley  of  flags.  This  vale  lying  at  the  bottom  of  a  deep  bay,  is  about 
three  leagues  wide.  On  the  land  side  it  is  bounded  by  a  green  hill,  which, 
descending  gradually  into  the  valley,  affords  a  delightful  prospect,  rendered 
still  more  beautiful  by  the  wide-spread  pastures  stored  with  cattle,  and 
the  pleasant  groves  of  guaivas,  orange,  and  lime  trees,  which  grow  wild 
here  in  prodigious  numbers.  In  this  delightful  place  the  canoes  landed 
thirty-seven  men,  who,  advancing  three  miles  into  the  country,  were  at- 
tacked by  150  Spaniards,  horse  and  fool  ;  when,  to  avoid  the  trampling 
of  the  horses,  the  bucaniers  retired  to  a  close  wood,  where  they  sustained 
the  attack  of  the  enemy  with  great  bravery,  killing  the  leader  and  seven- 
teen of  the  horsemen,  and  the  rest  flying.  The  English  lost  four  men, 
besides  two  wounded,  who  were  brought  down  to  the  canoes  upon  horses  ; 
one  of  the  latter  they  were  obliged  to  kill  and  eat,  for  though  there  were 
plenty  of  horned  cattle  upon  the  savanna,  they  were  afraid  to  venture 
there  again,  their  enemies  being  too  strong. 

On  the  25th,  being  Christmas  day,  they  regaled  on  some  Jew  fish  ; 
and,  on  the  28th,  Captain  Townley  returned  on  board  with  forty  bushels 
of  maize,  which  he  had  taken  at  an  Indian  village  up  the  country,  five 
leagues  to  the  east  of  Cape  Corientes.  Their  provisions  being  again 
exhausted,  they  steered  to  the  vale  of  Valderas,  to  provide  a  supply  of 
beef,  coming  to  an  anchor  about  a  mile  from  the.shore,  in  sixty  fathom 
water.  Here  240  men  landed,  fifty  of  whom  were  appointed  to  watch 
the  motions  of  the  Spaniards  (who  frequently  appeared  in  large  com- 
panies, but  dared  not  attack  them)  while  the  rest  were  employed  in  kill- 
ing and  salting  as  many  cows  as  would  sufliice  for  two  months,  their  salt 

7 


74  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

being  insufficient  for  a  longer  time.  Here  spending  six  or  seven  Jays, 
the  Manilla  ship  passed  by  to  the  eastward,  as  they  afterward  learned 
from  some  prisoners  whom  they  happened  to  seize.  The  ioss  of  this 
prize  is  attributed  to  the  wLlfulaess  of  Captain  Townley,  who  woald 
msist  on  attempting  to  take  the  Lima  ship  in  the  harbour  of  Acapulco^ 
when  they  ought  to  h.ave  been  providing  themselves  with  beef  and  maize, 
which  afterward,  being  absolutely  in  want  of,  they  were  compelled  to  do, 
while  the  ship  escaped  them.  Townley's  chief  view  in  cruising  in  these 
seas  being  the  hope  of  meeting  the  ship,  and  that  no-w  being  at  an  end, 
he  and  Swan  parted  compauy  ;  Swan  keeping  on  a  westward  coarse, 
and  Townley  going  back  to  th£  east ;  but  the  former  alone  it  is  our  bu- 
siness to  follow. 

Sailing  from  the  bay  on  the  7th  of  January,  1686^  with  a  good  wind 
at  north-east,  at  night  passed  by  Point  Pontiq.ue,  the  most  westerly  end 
of  the  valley  of  Valderas.  On  the  20th,.  anchored  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Chametly  islands,  which  are  six  in  number,  and  lie  in  twenty-three 
decrees  eleven  minutes  north  latitude. 

More  Captain  Swan,  taking  100  men  with  him,  proceeded  to  the  north- 
ward to  discover  the  River  Cullacan,  supposed  to  lie  in  a  province  of  the 
same  name,  in  twerity-four  degrees  north  latitude,  and  to  have  a  wealthy 
town  on  its  banks.  They  rowed  thirty  leagues  without  seeing  any  signa 
of  the  river,  or  any  place  where  to  land  with  safety  ;  but  afterward  dis- 
embarked on  the  west  side  of  a  salt  lake,  seven  leagues  from  the 
Chametly  islands,  where  they  found  some  few  bushels  of  maiz.e  in  a 
farm  house,  and  took  a  prisoner.  This  man  informed  them  there  were 
generally  a  considerable  number  of  black  cattle  in  that  place,  which  the 
Spaniards  had  driven  off;  but  that  in  all  probability  they  would  find  pro- 
visions in  an  Indian  town  about  five  leagues  distance,  to  which  they  im- 
mediately marched.  Here  they  were  opposed,  on  attempting  to  enter  it, 
by  a  considerable  party  of  Spaniards  and  Indians,  whom  they  repulsed 
at  the  first  charge  ;  and  entering  the  place,  found  two  or  three  wounded 
Indians,  who  told  them  the  town  was  called  Massactan,  and  that  there 
were  two  rich  gold  mines  about  five  leagues  distant.  On  the  2d  of 
February,  eighty  men  were  sent  to.  a  town  .called  Rosario,  situated  on  a 
river  of  the  same  name  ;  and  though  they  were  told  the  mines  were  not 
above  two  leagues  thence,  yet,  as  they  were  more  in  want  of  provisions 
than  of  gold,  they  paid  no  regard  to  the  infonaation,  contenting  them- 
selves with  carrying  otf  about  ninety  bushels  of  maize.  Quitting  Rosario 
for  the  River  of  St.  Jago,  in  hopes  of  finding  a  town  of  some  consequence, 
seventy  men  were  sent  up  the  river  in  canoes,  while  the  ships  anchored 
at  its  mouth.  They  soon  found  a  corn-fieid,  and  while  busy  gathering 
maize,  took  an  Indian,  who  informed  them  that  four  leagues  farther  was 
a  town  called  Santa  Pecaque.  As  soon  as  the  news  went  on  board, 
Captain  Swan  ordered  eight  canoes  and  140  men  to  proceed  with  the 
Indian  to  the  place. 

They  sailed  some  miles  up  the  river,  and  then  landing,  marched 
through  woods  and  plains  for  three  or  four  hours,  and  then  approaching 
the  town,  and  the  Spaniards  quitting  it,  the  bucaniers  entered  without 
opposition.  The  town  of  Santa  Pecaque,  near  which  are  some  silver 
mines,  is  situated  in  a  large  plain  on  the  borders  of  a  wood.  It  is  neatly 
built,  but  not  large,  has  a  square  market-place  in  the  middle,  and  two 
churches.  Here  they  found  plenty  of  salt  fish,  salt,  sugar,  and  maize, 
and  the  captain  dividing  his  people  into  two  companies,  ordered  half  to 
carry  the  provisions  on  board,  and  the  other  half  to  take  care  of  the  town  ; 


WILLIAM  DAMPIER.  75 

riiey  continued  this  business  for  two  days,  but  a  mutinous  spirit  getting 
among  the  rnen,  they  refused  to  march  with  the  regularity  the  captain 
vvishe'd,  so  that  fifty-four  hor:ies,  guided  by  fifty  men,  who  were  convey- 
ing maize  to  the  canoes,  were  attacked  by  the  Spaniards,  who  killed 
ihem  every  one  upon  the  spot  ;  and  though  Captain  Swan  marched  to 
their  relief,  the  enemy,  who  it  is  likely  had  paid  pretty  dear  for  the  vic- 
tory, nevei  attempted  to  attack  him  ;  the  rest  of  the  men  returned  safely 
on  board  with  their  commander. 

On  the  day  following  this  unhappy  engagement,  the  captain  gave  or- 
ders for  filling  water  and  sailing  ;  accordingly,  they  got  under  sad  the  21st, 
steerincr  toward  California.  On  the  7th  of  February,  anchored  at  Prince 
George's  Island,  the  middlemost  of  the  Tres  Marias,  at  which  place 
our  autnor,  who  was  much  atilicted  with  the  dropsy,  was  buried  for  about 
half  an  hour  up  to  llie  neck  in  the  hot  sand,  which  producing  a  plentiful 
l)er.spiralion,  lie  was  then  wrapped  up  warm,  and  put  to  bed  in  a  tent,  by 
which  means  he  obtained  great  relief  in  the  disorder.  They  remained 
here  careening  till  the  26th  ;  but  as  no  fresh  water  could  be  got,  it  being 
a  dry  season,  they  sailed  to  a  rivulet  on  the  continent,  near  Cape  Cori- 
entes,  where  they  remained  for  some  time  ;  and  having  had  but  indifferent 
success  in  these  parts,  came  to  a  resolution  of  steering  for  the  East 
Indies,  to  which  voyage  many  of  the  men  were  averse.  Captain  Swan, 
however,  Mr.  Dampier,  and  a  majority  of  the  people,  declared  in  favour 
of  the  attempt. 

They  sailed  for  Cape  Corientes  on  the  31st  of  March,  1G8G,  and 
having  a  trade-wind  and  fair  weather,  proceeded  quickly  in  their  voyage. 
On  the  20lh  of  May,  about  four  o'clock,  discovered  land,  at  eight  leagues 
distance,  to  their  great  joy,  having  then  but  three  days'  provisions  left, 
and  the  people  beginning  to  murmur  at  the  captain  for  carying  thorn  so 
far  out  of  their  knowledge.  About  eleven  at  night,  on  the  21st  of  May, 
they  came  to  an  anchor  about  a  mile  from  shore,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Island  of  Guam,  one  of  the  Ladrones  ;  and  the  next  morning  Captain 
Swan  wrote  a  letter,  which  he  sent  with  some  presents  to  the  governor; 
who,  in  return,  sent  plenty  of  hcgs,  cocoa  nuts,  rice,  fifty  pounds  of  fine 
Manilla  tobacco,  and  other  refreshments. 

Here  the  captain  being  informed  by  a  friar,  who  came  on  board,  that  the 
Philippines  abounded  with  provisions,  they  made  sail  on  the  2d  of  June, 
arid  on  the  21st  arrived  at  the  Island  of  St.  John,  which  he  passed  by, 
and  came  to  an  anchor  in  a  small  bay,  on  the  east  side  of  Mindanao, 
which  had  been  represented  as  the  most  plentiful  of  these  islands. 

The  Philippines  are  a  range  of  large  islands,  extending  from  five  to 
nineteen  degrees  of  north  latitude.  .The  chief  is  called  Luconia,  where 
Magellan  was  killed  by  a  poisoned  arrow,  and  is  now  in  possession  of  the 
Spaniards.  St  John  and  Mindanao  are  the  only  islands  of  all  the  Philip- 
pines which  are  not  under  Spanish  subjection  ;  and  are  situated  most  to 
tlie  .south.  St.  John  is  in  length  about  thirty-eight  leagues  ;  its  greatest 
breadth  is  about  twenty-four,  and  the  soil  is  very  fertile.  Mindanao  is 
sixty  leagues  in  length,  and  between  forty  and  fifty  in  breadth  ;  the  soil 
ia  good,  and  there  are  some  stony  hill?,  which  produce  many  kinds  of 
trees  entirely  unknown  in  Enghnd.  The  valleys  are  well  watered,  and 
abound  with  yams,  potatoes,  pumpkins,  watermelons,  plantains,  bana- 
nas, guaivas,  nutmeg:?,  cloves,  bctle  nuts,  durians,  cocoas,  oranges,  &c., 
but  particularly  the  tree  whence  sago  is  gathered,  which  the  inhabitants 
call  the  libby  tree,  arid  which  grows  wild  by  the  water-side,  in  groves  of 
several  miles  in  length. 


76  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

The  people  in  general  resemble  each  other  in  strength,  stature,  and 
colour  ;  they  are  not  large,  but  well  limbed,  with  little  black  eyes,  oval 
faces,  fiat  foreheads,  short  noses,  wide  moutlis,  black  teeth  and  hair,  and 
bright  tawny  skina.  They  never  cut  their  thumb-nails,,  but  sometime? 
scrape  them  ;  and  that  of  the  left  hvind  is  generally  thsr  longest.  They 
are  th  i\iah.  and  indolent,  not  caring  to  woik  hard,  except  they  are  drove 
to  it ;  but  ingenious  and  nimble^  and  very  civil  to  strangers.  The  men 
neither  wear  &hoes  nor  stockings,  but  breeches  and  frocks,  and  have  a 
turban  tied  once  round  the  head  in  a  knot,  the  ends^  hanging  down,  and 
either  laced  or  fringed. 

The  women  have  smaller  features  than  the  in«n,  and  look  agreeable 
enough  at  a  ;li.-;l:ince  ;  but  their  noses  are  so  very  small,  that  in  some 
scarce  any  rising  between  the  eyes  can  be  discerned.  They  have  alsa 
very  small  feet.  They  wear  their  hair  tied  in  a  knot,  hanging  down  their 
backs.  Thdr  garments  are  a  piece  of  cloth,  which  forms  a  kind  of  pet- 
ticoat, and  a  loose  frock  that  reaches  a  little  below  the  waist,  the  sleeves 
of  which  are  so  narre>w  that  they  cnn  hardly  get  their  hands  through, 
but  are  longer  than  their  arms,  and  set  in  plaits  round  their  wrists. 

They  have  a  custom  peculiar  to  the  city  of  Mindanao.  On  the  arrival 
of  strangers,  the  men  come  on  board  to  invite  them  to  their  houses, 
where  it  is  asked  if  they  choose  a  pagally,  or  comrade,  which  the  stran- 
ger, through  civility,  is  obliged  to  accept ;  and,  to  show  their  gratitude 
'for  which,  must  make  a  small  present ;  in  return  for  which,  they  have- 
the  liberty  of  eating,  drinking,  and  sleeping  in  their  friend'^&  house  as  oftert 
as  they  please. 

The  most  populous  and  estensiire  district  in  the  island  is  Mindanao, 
whence  it  derives  its  nam-e  ;  the  people  are  tolerably  well  civilized,  lying 
near  the  sea,  and  being  pretty  much  engaged  in  commerce.  Dampier 
does  not  pretend  to  describe  all  the  different  people  of  this  island  ;  but 
informs  us,  that  the  most  remarkable  anrong  them  are  the  Hillanoons, 
who  inhabit  the  inland  mounlainous  part  of  the  country,  and  are  proprie- 
tors of  the  gold  mines.  The  houses  of  Mindanao  are  built  upon  posts 
eighteen  or  twenty  feet  high,  to  which  tl>ey  ascend  by  a  ladder.  The 
building  consists  only  of  one  flour,  which  is  divided  into  several  rooms. 
The  roof  is  of  palm  leaves,  and  in  the  space  under  the  house  the  common 
people  keep  ducks  and  fowls. 

The  house  of  the  sultan  stands  upon  150  great  posts,  ami  is  much 
higher  than  the  rest,  with  brojid  steps  leading  up  to  it.  In  the  first  room 
are  twenty  iron  guns  on  carriages  ;  the  general  and  other  great  men  have 
also  guns  in  their  houses.  Near  this  is  another,  raised  about  four  feet 
from  the  ground,  where  the  sukan  and  his  council  sit  cross-legged  on 
rich  carpets,  to  give  audience  to  ambassadors  and  foreign  merchants. 
The  floors  of  the  houses  in  general  are  well  matted,  as  no  chairs  are  used 
in  the  country.  The  common  people  feed  on  fish,  rice,  arxi  sago,  but 
the  better  sort  have  buffaloes  and  fowls,  which  they  dress  with  a  great 
deal  of  rice  ;  but  are  miserable  cooks.  Tliey  use  no  spoons,  but  take  up 
food  with  their  fingers,  and  usually  wash  after  meals.  Bathing  is  much 
practised  among  these  people,  a  beneficial  custom  in  hot  countries  ;  and 
it  is  common  for  them  to  go  into  the  river,  strip  themselves,  wash  their 
clothes,  put  them  on  again,  and  go  about  their  business.  Some  speak 
Spanish,  but  the  most  common  languages  are  the  Malayan  and  that  of 
Mindanao.  They  have  frequently  invited  the  English  to  settle  among 
ihem,  but  are  afraid  of  the  Dutch  and  Spaniard.^.  Almost  every  person 
here  is  a  goldsmith,  blacksmith,  or  carpenter.     They  build  good  ships, 


^YILLIAM  DAMPIER.  77 

adapted  for  trade  or  pleasure,  and  deal  in  gold,  bees- wax,  and  tobacco, 
the  last  of  which  is  better  than  that  of  Manilla,  which  may  probably  be 
owing  to  the  difference  of  the  soil.  Agues,  fevers,  fluxes,  are  the  most 
common  disorders  ;  for  all  which  diseases  the  country  affords  sufficient 
Biedicines,  which  the  people  very  well  know  how  to  prepare  and  use. 

The  sultan  is  despotic,  but  so  poor,  that  if  he  knows  any  of  his  subjects 
have  money,  .he  will  borrow  it,  nor  do  they  dare  to  refuse  him.  He  had, 
in  Dampier's  time,  besides  his  sultana,  tweaty-ni'iie  concubines,  and  was 
then  between  fifty  and  sixty  years  of  a^e.  Several  of  t\\e  concubines  would 
beg  trifles  of  the  sailors  whom  they  met  in  the  streets.  When  the  sultan 
went  abroad,  he  was  carried  in  a  litter  upon  four  men's  shoulders,  attend- 
ed by  a  guard  of  eight  or  ten  men,  but  he  never  went  far  from  the 
•city,  as  the  adjacent  country  was  woody,  and  inconvenient  for  travelling. 

Sometimes  he  took  pleasure  on  the  wal-er  with  his  women,  in  a  neat 
vessel  built  for  that  purpose,  with  a  cabin  made  of  bamboo,  and  divided 
into  three  rooms  ;  in  one  of  which  he  reposed  on  a  carpet,  whereon  little 
pillows  were  laid  for  his  head  ;  the  women  attended  in  the  second  ;  and 
the  servants,  with  betle  and  tobacco,  waited  inthethirtl.  He  sometimes 
makes  war  with  the  mountaineers ;  the  weapons  they  use  are  swords, 
lances,  and  a  sort  of  bayonet  called  a  cresset,  which  is  worn  by  all  per- 
sons from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  They  fight  no  pitched  battles  in 
the  field,  but  make  small  wooden  forts,  which  they  defend  by  guns,  and 
from  which  they  sally  to  surprise  each  other  in  small  parties  ;  but  neither 
give  nor  take  quarter. 

The  ouly  music  they  have  are  bells  without  clappers,  which  are  com- 
monly sixteen  in  number,  and  increase  in  weight  from  three  pounds  to 
ten.  These  being  placed  upon  a  table,  are  struck  with  a  stick,  and  pro- 
duce an  uncouth  disagreeable  noise.  Mr.  Dampier  heard  a  set  of  these 
in  the  house  of  the  king's  brother,  whose  son  being  to  be  circumcised, 
occasioned  their  being  used  for  several  days  together,  previous  to  the 
ceremony.  They  have  women  who  sing  and  dance  to  the  music  of  their 
own  voices,  and  others  dance  with  them  :  nor  aie  the  sultan's  children 
above  joining  in  these  gambols.  These  people  observe  the  Ramadam, 
or  fasting  time,  in  the  month  of  August,  beginning  at  one  new  moon  and 
continuing  till  the  next,  during  which  time  they  fast  till  the  evening,  then 
go  to  prayers  for  an  hour,  and  afterward  feast  heartily.  They  have  so 
great  an  aversion  to  swine's  flesh  as  not  to  permit  a  person  who  has 
touched  a  hog  to  enter  their  houses  for  some  days  afterward  ;  yet  there 
are  great  numbers  of  these  animals  running  wild  about  the  island,  which 
they  often  requested  Captain  Swan's  people  to  destroy.  The  sultan's 
brother  having  desired  to  have  a  pair  of  shoes  from  one  of  the  sailors, 
but  being  told  that  they  were  sewed  with  threads  pointed  with  hogs' 
bristles,  he  returned  them  in  a  great  passion,  and  desired  to  have  a  pair 
sewed  in  some  other  manner,  and  was  extremely  pleased  that  his  request 
was  complied  with. 

As  the  people  of  the  island  proved  civil,  and  as  the  season  of  the  year 
was  far  advanced,  Captain  Swan  began  to  entertain  thoughts  of  staying 
at  Mindanao  for  a  considerable  time  ;  and  thinking  that,  in  this  case,  it 
would  be  proper  to  make  a  friend  of  the  sultan,  he  sent  Mr.  Moore  on 
shore  with  three  yards  of  scarlet  cloth  and  three  of  silver  lace,  as  a 
present.  An  audience  being  granted  to  him  about  nine  o'clock  at  night 
by  the  sultan,  his  interpreter  conversed  with  him  above  an  hour  in  Spa- 
nish ;  after  which  he  and  his  people  were  entertained  with  an  excellent 
•upper.     Next  day  Captain  Swan  visited  the  sultan,  and  was  entertained 

7» 


78  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

v;ith  betle  and  tobacco ;  two  letters  were  shown  him,  one  from  the  East 
India  company  of  London,  who  had  entertained  thoiiglits  of  building  a 
fort  there  ;  and  the  other,  which  was  directed  to  any  Englishman  who 
might  happen  to  stop  there,  was  from  one  Captain  Goodlud,  and  concluded 
with  these  words,  "Trust  none  of  them,  they  are  all  thieves."  One  of 
the  general's  men  had  stolen  some  goods  from  this  Captain  Goodlud, 
and  fled  to  the  mountains.  This  fellow  being  taken  while  Captain  Swan 
was  upon  the  island,  the  sultan  would  have  delivered  him  to  the  captain 
to  be  punished  ;  but  Swan  refusing  to  interfere  in  the  business,  the  sul- 
tan, to  manifest  his  love  of  justice,  ordered  him  to  be  bound  to  a  post  by 
the  hands  and  feet,  where  he  was  exposed  the  whole  day  to  the  heat  of 
the  sun  and  the  stinging  of  the  moschetoes.  In  consequence  of  this 
equitable  behaviour  in  the  sultan,  Captain  Swan  gave  positive  orders  that 
none  of  his  people  should  oltend  the  natives  ;  and  he  punished  Mr.  Teat, 
his  chief-mate,  for  some  slight  fault^e  had  been  guilty  of.  The  chief- 
general.  Raja  Laut,  being  at  variance  with  the  sultan,  was  not  present 
when  Captain  Swan  held  his  conference  with  his  majesty,  but  be  waited 
his  return,  and  treated  him  and  his  people  very  hospitably  with  rice  and 
fowls  boiled.  Raja  was  a  person  of  exceeding  good  understanding,  wrote 
the  Spanish  language,  and  spoke  it  fluently,  was  conversant  in  books  of 
that  language,  and  not  unacquainted  with  the  customs  of  European  na- 
tions. He  was  very  friendly  to  Captain  Swan,  gave  him  his  best  advice, 
and  offered  him  the  use  of  his  house  while  he  remained  on  the  island. 

As  the  tempestuous  weather  began  to  approach,  the  sailors,  by  the  help 
of  fifcy  or  sixty  fishermen,  hauled  the  ship  up  the  river,  where  they  dug  a 
hole  and  moored  lier,  so  that  she  was  always  afloat ;  and  the  inhabitants 
coming  on  boaid,  all  the  men  were  soon  provided  with  pagallys,  or  com- 
rades, who  behaved  in  a  very  friendly  manner  to  them.  Captain  Swan 
was  usually  attended  with  trumpets  at  his  dinner,  the  music  of  which 
aflforded  Raja  Laut  the  highest  entertainment. 

The  city  of  Mindanao,  which  is  a  mile  in  length,  and  situated  on  the 
bank  of  the  river,  is  a  perfect  pond  during  the  wet  season,  and  the  ship 
would  have  been  in  the  utmost  danger  from  the  large  pieces  of  timber 
which  were  washed  down  by  the  floods,  had  not  great  care  been  taken  to 
preserve  her.  When  these  began  to  abate,  Captain  Swan  hired  a  ware- 
house, where  he  kept  his  goods  and  sails  while  the  ship  was  careening  ; 
and  remarking  that  Raja  Laut  was  exceedingly  fond  of  dancing,  sent  for 
his  violins  onshore,  with  some  of  the  m.en  to  entertain  him.  Among  the 
rest  one  John  Thacker,  a  frugal  fellow,  who  had  saved  money  enough  to 
dress  himself  genteelly,  and  who  had  learned  to  dance  at  same  of  the 
music  houses  in  Wapping,  was  mistaken  by  the  general  for  a  nolrfeman, 
and  one  of  the  sailors  confirmed  him  in  his  error.  But  the  a.ff:\h  coming 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  captain,  the  tar  was  thrashed  for  the  imposition; 
and  the  general  was  undeceived,  but  could  never  afterward  endure  the 
sight  of  the  fellow.  When  careening  the  ship,  they  found  that  a  most 
astonishing  number  of  worms  had  eaten  into  her  bottom  during  her  stay 
in  the  harbour ;  but  having  new  sheathed  this,  they  steered  out  on  the 
10th  of  December,  and  began  to  fill  water,  and  carry  rice  on  board.  The 
general,  however,  who  had  his  views  in  detaining  the  vessel,  kept  several 
of  the  men  on  shore  hunting  with  him,  under  pretence  of  stocking  the 
ship  with  beef;  but  Mr.  Dampier,  who  was  one  of  the  hunting  party, 
says,  that  in  ten  days'  excursion  they  met  with  only  four  cows,  and  of 
these  were  not  able  to  catch  any  one.  Captain  Swan  now  began  to  en- 
tertain thoughts  of  quitting  the  island,  with  a  view  to  take  in  a  lading  ot 


WILLIAM  DaMPIER.  79 

spice  at  an  adjacent  island,  which  has  been  since  in  possession  of  the 
Dutch  ;  but  the  men  expected  he  would  have  continued  the  privateering, 
which  he  was  extremely  averse  to,  though  he  carefully  concealed  it  from 
them.  Raja  Laut  had  a  hunting  match  in  search  of  black  cattle  the  day  after 
Christmas-day,  iu  which  he  was  accompanied  by  all  his  wives,  and  five  or 
six  Englishmen  :  in  this  expedition  they  killed  three  heifers,  but  he  and  his 
company  took  care  to  drink  so  plentifully  of  a  very  agreeable  liquor,  ex- 
tracted from  rice,  that  they  were  drunk  two  or  three  times  before  night. 

At  this  time  one  of  the  men  happening  by  accident  to  find  Captain 
Swan's  journal,  showed  it  to  his  companions  ;  and  as  they  found  he  had 
made  remarks  on  the  smallest  oftence  of  every  sailor  on  board,  and  been 
very  free  in  his  reflections  on  the  crew  in  general,  they  determined  to 
deprive  him  of  the  command,  choosing  Mr.  Read  captam,  and  Mr.  Teat 
master ;  and  having  resolved  to  cruise  before  Manilla,  they  set  sail  on 
the  14th  of  January,  1687,  leaving  Captain  Swan  and  thirty-six  men  on 
shore.  Mr.  Dampier  was  among  those  who  left  Mindanao.  On  the  3d 
of  February  they  anchored  oflF  an  island  to  the  west  of  the  Isle  of  Sebo, 
tlie  name  of  which  they  did  not  know,  in  latitude  nine  degrees  fifteen 
minutes,  where  neither  house  nor  inhabitants  were  seen,  but  a  prodi- 
gious number  of  largo  bats,  the  wings  of  some  of  which,  when  extended, 
measured  eight  feet  from  tip  to  tip,  and  were  edged  with  sharp  crooked 
claws,  which  clung  fast  to  anything  they  happened  to  touch. 

They  sailed  from  this  place  on  the  10th  of  February,  coasting  along 
the  west  side  of  the  Philippine  islands.  On  the  ISch  came  to  an  anchor 
at  the  north-west  end  of  Mindora,  an  island  forty  leagues  in  length. 
Here  they  found  a  small  river  of  fresh  water,  running  into  the  sea,  near 
the  place  where  they  lay  at  anchor,  and  savi?  plenty  of  oxen  and  hogs, 
but  so  wild  they  could  not  catch  them.  During  their  stay,  a  canoe  from 
Manilla,  with  four  Indians  on  board,  came  and  gave  information  that  in 
the  harbour  of  Manilla  there  were  generally  twenty  or  thirty  vessels  be- 
longing to  the  Spaniards,  Portuguese,  and  Chinese,  and  that  if  inclined 
to  engage  in  a  clandestine  trade,  they  would  carry  letters  to  some  mer- 
chants of  that  place. 

Left  this  place  on  the  2Ist ;  on  the  23d  arrived  at  the  south-east  end 
of  the  Island  of  Luconia,  where  they  took  two  barks  bound  to  Manilla, 
from  Pagassanam,  a  small  town  on  this  island.  Luconia  is  near  60 
leagues  broad,  and  not  less  than  120  in  length  ;  it  is  surrounded  by  many 
small  islands,  of  which  Mindora,  the  principal,  lies  nearest,  and  gives  its 
name  to  a  channel  between  it  and  the  former.  The  country  is  partly 
composed  of  mountains,  which  afford  some  gold,  and  partly  of  large  pas- 
ture-plains, stored  with  buffaloes,  cows,  horses,  sheep,  goats,  and  hogs. 
It  is  said  to  be  extremely  healthy,  though  situated  in  fifteen  degrees  north 
latitude  ;  and  its  water  is  esteemed  the  best  in  the  world.  It  is  inhabited 
by  Indians,  who  live  in  small  towns,  and  are  instructed  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion  by  Spanish  priests.  Manilla  is  the  chief,  if  not  the 
only  city,  seated  at  the  foot  of  a  ridge  of  high  hills.  It  is  defended  by  a 
strong  wall ;  the  houses  are  spacious,  strong,  and  covered  with  tiles  ; 
the  streets  large  and  regular,  with  a  market-place  in  the  middle.  It  is 
adorned  with  several  churches  and  convents,  and  the  harbour  is  very  large. 
The  city  is  well  watered,  and  the  country  about  it  is  fruitful  and  plentiful. 
Its  chief  trade  is  with  Acapulco. 

As  the  season  of  the  year  was  too  far  advanced  to  think  of  trade,  they 
determined  to  sail  for  Pulo  Condore,  the  chief  of  a  cluster  of  small  is- 
lands oa  the  coast  of  Cambodia,  and  to  return  in  the  month  of  May,  to 


BO  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

lie  in  wait  for  the  Acapulco  ship  ;  accordingly  they  sailed  from  Lnconia 
on  the  36th  of  February,  and  anchored  on  the  north  side  of  Pulo  Con- 
dore  on  the  14th  of  March.  This  island,  the  only  one  of  the  cluster 
that  is  inhabited,  produces  several  kinds  of  trees,  among  which  is  a  very 
tall  one,  between  three  and  four  feet  in  diameter  ;  from  an  incision  made 
jn  the  trunk  of  which  they  distilled  a  liquor,  that  when  heated  a  little, 
had  the  virtues  of  tar,  and  being  kept  longer  over  the  fire,  acquired  the 
consistence  of  pitch,  in  lieu  of  which  it  was  used  with  success.  One  of 
these  trees  affords  two  quarts  of  juice  daily,  for  a  month  together  ;  after 
which,  drying  up,  it  recovers  itself  again.  Mango  trees  are  also  produced 
here,  the  fruit  of  which  is  pickled  while  green  with  salt,  vinegar,  and 
garlic.  The  fruit  is  about  the  size  of  a  small  peach,  very  juicy  and  plea- 
sant, and  is  so  fragrant  as  to  perfume  the  air  at  some  distance  On  this 
island  grows  a  straight  tree,  about  a  foot  in  diameter,  upon  which  grapes 
grow  in  clusters  about  the  body  o-f  the  tree,  like  the  fruit  of  the  cocoa 
tree,  and  have  a  very  pleasant  taste.  There  is  also  a  kind  of  bastard 
nutmeg,  which  exactly  resembles  the  true,  but  has  neither  smell  nor  taste. 
Here  are  hogs,  guanoes,  and  lizards,  together  with  several  sorts  of  fowl, 
as  j>arrots,  paroquets,  wild  cocks  and  hens,  turtle-doves  and  pigeons. 
The  sea-shore  abounds  with  muscles,  limpets,  and  turtle. 

The  inhabitants,  who  came  originally  from  Cochin  China,  are  small, 
but  well  shaped  ;  of  a  dark  complexion,  long  visage,  black  hair,  thin  lips, 
little  eyes,  and  white  teeth  ;.  very  civil,  but  poor ;  their  chief  employment 
consisting  in  supplying  vessels  with  the  juice  of  the  tar  tree,  and  making 
turtle  oil,  by  boiling  the  fat  of  the  fish,  which  they  send  to  Cochin  China. 
These  people  are  mostly  idolaters  ;  but  Dampier  does  not  pretend  to  be 
acquainted  with  the  ceremonies  of  their  religion  ;  only  he  imagines  they 
worship  the  elephant  and  the  horse,  having  observed  a  representation  of 
the  latter  on  the  outside,  and  of  the  former  in  the  inside  of  a  temple, 
which  was  a  mean  wooden  building,  in  a  sn>aU  village  on  the  south  side 
of  the  island.  They  staid  at  this  place  from  the  16th  March  to  the  16ih 
of  April,  during  which  they  careened  the  ship,  and  made  her  a  fresh  suit 
of  sails  out  of  the  cloth  taken  on  board  the  Spanish  prize. 

While  remaining  here,  the  inhabitants  supplied  them  with  plenty  of  hogs, 
turtle,  and  fruit,  for  which  they  took  rice  in  exchange.  Having  unloaded 
the  prize  taken  at  Manilla,  they  went  to  the  north  side  of  the  island  to 
supply  themselves  with  water,  and  then  taking  on  board  a  person  who 
understood  the  Malay  language  to  pilot  them  to  Siam,  with  which  place, 
as  well  as  the  islands  lying  on  the  road,  he  pretended  to  be  acquainted, 
they  set  sail  on  the  17th  of  April,  and  entered  the  Bay  of  Siam  on  the 
24tb,  where  the  pilot  ran  them  aground.  At  this  place  Captain  Read 
went  on  shore  among  the  islands  in  search  of  fish,  but  returned  without 
success  ;  and  steering  for  Pulo  Ubi,  at  which  place  they  had  touched  in 
their  passage  hither,  found  two  vessels  at  anchor,  laden  with  lacquer,  such 
as  is  used  in  japanning.  These  vessels,  one  of  which  was  remarkably 
neat,  had  on  board  forty  sailors,  brisk  sociable  fellows,  armed  with  guns, 
swords,  and  lances.  They  returned  to  Pulo  Condore  on  the  21st  of  May, 
where  was  found  a  small  bark  at  anchor,  to  hail  which  Captain  Read  sent 
a  canoe  along  side  of  her  ;  but  charged  his  men  not  to  venture  on  board, 
without  having  first  made  friends  of  the  people,  lest  they  should  be 
Malays,  whom  he  knew  to  be  remarkably  treacherous.  However,  the 
men  neglected  his  orders,  and  boarded  her,  but  were  soon  obliged  to  re- 
treat, being  attacked  with  a  kind  of  bayonets,  called  cresses,  and  compelled 
to  leap  into  the  sea  and  swim  for  their  lives  ;  and  it  is  not  a  little  ex- 


WlLLlAitf  DAJtPiER.  81 

Vraordinary,  iKat  one  of  the  men,  named  Daniel  Wallis,  ^vfiirt\  on  that 
occasion,  though  he  could  never  swim  before,  nor  was  able  to  repeat  it 
afterward.  Captain  Read  manned  two  canoes,  in  order  to  punish  these 
people  :  but  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  English  advancing,  escaped  into  the 
woods,  having  first  cut  a  hole  in  the  bark's  bottom,  and  sunk  her. 

Quitting  Pulo  Condore  with  a  south-west  wind  On  the  4th  of  June, 
1687,  intending  to  cruise  off  Manilla,  the  wind  soon  changed  to  the  south- 
ieast,  and  they  were  forced  on  the  coast  of  China,  and  coming  to  an  an- 
chor on  the  north-ifiast  of  St.  John's  Island,  lying  in  2S  degrees  30  minutes 
north  latitude. 

The  skirts  Of  this  spot,  bordering  the  sea,  are  for  the  most  patt  woody  : 
the  soil  is  generally  fertile  ;  and  in  the  inland  pfarts  there  are  good  pas- 
ture-'grounds  and  many  grov^es  of  trees.  They  have  plenty  of  tame  ducks, 
tocks,  and  hens,  but  nO  wild  fowls  :  buffaloes,  bullocks,  goatSj  and  China 
hogs  are  very  plenty.  These  hogs  are  black,  have  tshort  necks,  small 
beads,  short  legs,  and  bellies  whfch  sv\'Oep  the  ground.  The  natives 
chiefly  maintain  themselves  by  cultivating  rice.  They  are  tall,  raw-boned, 
straight-bodied  men  ;  have  tawny  complexions,  long  faces,  acqujline  noses, 
Bmall  eyes,  black  hair,  and  thin  beards,  which  arc  tied  up  in  knots,  or 
r.urled  in  whiskers  on  each  side  of  their  lips.  They  were  formerly  very 
proud  of  their  hair,  but  the  Tartars,  when  they  marde  a  conquest  of  this 
country,  compelled  theirv  to  shave  their  heads,  leaving  only  one  lock  on 
the  crown  of  the  head,  which  they  permit  to  grow  to  a  great  length, 
and  sometimes  it  flows  loose,  though  it  is  generally  platted.  It  is  as 
mueh  as  the  life  cf  a  Chinese  is  worth,  to  be  found  with  long  hair  ;  and 
many  have  been  known  to  abandon  their  country  rather  than  part  with  it. 
They  wear  no  covering  for  the  head,  but  instead,  use  an  umbrella  to  shade 
them  from  the  weather  ;  a  large  fan  is  Used  fOr  the  same  purpose,  if  they 
have  but  a  little  way  to  go.  They  Wear  nO  stockings,  but  slippers  ou 
their  feet,  and  the  covering  is  a  light  frock  and  breeches. 

The  women  On  this  island,  as  well  as  those  on  the  continent  of  China^ 
are  compelled  to  be  much  at  home,  on  account  of  the  smallncss  of  their 
feet,  which  are  bound  up  prodigiously  tight  in  their  infancy  to  prevent 
their  growing,  small  feet  being  esteemed  a  great  beauty  ;  for  this  reason 
they  only  stumble  about  their  houses,  being  obliged  to  sit  dov;n  at  the 
lend  of  every  two  or  three  steps.  They  make  very  curious  embroidery 
for  their  shoes,  and  in  general  are  excellent  needle-women.  The  feet  of 
the  poorer  women  are  suffered  to  grow  nxuch  larger,  that  they  may  be 
able  to  produce  their  subsistence.  Tliere  is  4  small  town  On  the  island^ 
situated  in  marshy  ground,  the  houses  of  which  are  mean,  lowly^  badly 
furnished,  and  built  upon  posts. 

While  at  anchor,  a  Chinese  junk  lay  near  them,  flat  both  at  the  head 
and  stern,  having  little  huts  three  feet  high  on  the  deck,  which  were 
covered  with  palmetto  leaves.  She  had  a  large  cabin,  with  an  altar  and 
lamp  burning  in  it.  The  hold  was  divided  into  several  partitions,  each  so 
tight,  that  if  a  leak  should  spring  in  one,  the  goods  in  the  ne.Kt  would 
receive  no  damage.  Every  merchant  has  his  particular  room,  where  he 
stows  his  goods,  and  someticnes  lodges  in  it  himself.  This  has  only  two 
masts,  a  main-mast  and  fore -mast ;  the  last  has  a  square  sail  and  square 
yard,  but  the  main-mast  has  a  sail  narrow  aloft,  like  a  sloOp's  sail.  In 
fair  weather  they  use  also  a  top-sail,  which  in  foul  weather  they  haul 
dovvn  on  deck,  yard  and  all.  The  main-mast  of  the  largest  junks  is  as 
large  as  that  of  our  third-rate  men-of-v/ar,  but  made  all  out  of  one  tree 
and  not  pieced  as  ours  are. 


82  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WoRL£>- 

Perceiving  all  imaginable  signs  of  an  approaching  storm,  on  the  3cl  of 
July  they  weighed  anchor,  and  got  out  to  sea  with  all  possible  expedition, 
that  they  might  not  want  room.  About  eleven  o'clock  at  night  the  storm 
overtook  them,  which  lasted  with  prodigious  fierceness  till  about  four  in 
the  morning,  when  the  hopes  of  the  superstitious  sailors  were  revived  by 
the  sight  of  a  corpus  sanctum  upon  the  niain-mast,  which  they  looked  upoii 
as  the  forerunner  of  good  weather,  but  had  it  been  upon  deck,  they  would 
have  esteemed  it  a  certain  sign  of  being  lost.  The  corpus  sanctum  is 
a  small  glittering  light  like  a  star,  which  usually  dances  about  a  ship  in 
hard  weather.  By  eleven  o'clock  the  nexf  mornmg  it  was  stark  calm  ; 
after  which  the  storm  raged  more  violently  than  ever  ;  and  as  they  dread- 
ed the  continuance  of  bad  weather  during  this  moon,  which  Vv'as  near  the 
full,  they  determined  to  steer  away  for  the  Piscadores,  or  Fisher  islands, 
which  he  in  33  degrees  north  latitude.  On  the  20th  of  July,  gained  sight 
of  them,  and  came  to  an  anchor  between  the  two  easternmost  islands, 
on  the  west  side  of  one  of  which  they  wore  agreeably  surprised  to  find  a 
large  town,  with  a  fort  commanding  the  harbour,  the  houses  of  which 
were  neatly  built,  but  low. 

Some  of  the  men  who  went  on  shore  were  carried  before  the  governor, 
who,  being  informed  that  they  were  English,  and  intended  to  trade,  said 
they  must  not  pretend  to  do  it,  as  it  was  a  thing  absolutely  forbidden  tliere. 
He  treated  them,  however,  with  great  civility,  and  said  he  would  assist 
them  as  much  as  lay  in  his  power,  sending  a  present  to  the  captain,  of  a 
small  jar  of  flour,  some  watermelons,  about  a  dozen  pine  apples,  and  some 
cakes  of  fine  brertd.  They  were  visited  the  next  day  by  an  officer  of  a 
very  grand  appearance,  dressed  in  a  loose  coat,  with  breeches  and  boots 
of 'olack  silk,  and  a  black  silk  cap,  on  which  was  a  plume  of  black  and 
white  feathers.  He  brought  on  board  with  him,  us  a  present  from  the 
governor,  a  very  fat  heifer,  two  large  hogs,  four  goats,  two  baskets  of 
flour,  twenty  large  flat  cakes  of  bread,  two  jars  of  sam-shu,  or  arrack,  and 
fifty-five  jars  of  hoc-shu,  a  strong  pleasant  liquor  resembling  mum,  and 
which  is  extracted  from  wheat.  In  return  for  these  presents  Captain 
Read  sent  the  governor  a  silver-hilted  sword,  a  carbine,  and  a  gold  chain ; 
and  on  the  gentleman's  return,  he  was  saluted  with  three  guns. 

They  sailed  from  the  Piscadores  with  a  south-v/est  wind  on  the  29th 
of  July,  steering  for  some  Httle  islands  between  Formosa  and  Luconia, 
known  by  no  other  name  than  the  Five  isles,  which  they  imagined  to  be 
uninhabited  ;  but,  to  tlieir  great  surprise,  found  three  poj)u]ous  towns,  all 
Aithin  a  league  from  the  sea.  One  of  these,  about  eight  leagues  long 
and  two  broad,  they  called  the  Prince  of  Orange  Island,  in  honour  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  afterward  King  William  the  Third.  To  another  Dam- 
pier  gave  the  name  of  Grafton,  in  honour  of  the  Duke  of  Grafion,  in 
whose  family  his  wife  then  lived  ;  and  a  third  was  called  Monmouth  Is- 
land, in  honour  of  the  Duke  of  Monmouth  ;  these  were  ihe  three  largest, 
and  of  the  otliers,  one  they  called  the  Goat  Island,  from  the  number  of 
goats  they  saw  upon  it,  and  the  other  Bashee,  from  a  pleasant  liquor  of 
that  name,  which  they  drank  there.  Orange  Island,  though  the  largest, 
is  uninhabited,  being  rocky  and  barren  ;  on  Goat  Island  there  is  one  town, 
Dut  Monmouth  and  Grafton  Islands  contain  a  great  number  of  inhabitants. 
The  hills  of  these  isles  are  rocky,  but  the  valleys  are  fertile  in  grass,  plan- 
tains, bananas,  pine  apples,  pumpions,  sugar  Canes,  potatoes,  and  cotton. 
Thev  are  well  waiered  with  running  streams,  and  stored  with  goats  and 
hogs,  but  have  scarcely  any  fowl,  either  wild  or  tame. 

The  natives  are  short  and  thick,  round-visaged,  with  low  foreheads, 


WILLIAM  DAMPIER*  83 

and  thick  eye-brows  ;  their  noses  flattish  and  short,  their  eyes  of  a  hazel 
colour  and  small,  hut  not  so  small  as  those  of  the  Chinese;  their  lips 
and  mouths  of  the  middle  size,  with  white  teeth,  and  black  thick  straight 
hair,  which  they  cut  short,  so  as  not  to  permit  it  to  cover  their  ears. 
Their  comj)lcxion  is  a  dark  copper  colour.  The  men  go  bare-headed ; 
some  wear  no  clothes  but  a  cloth  about  the  middle,  but  others  have  a 
kind  of  jacket  made  of  plantain  leaves,  as  rough  as  a  bear's  skin.  Th^ 
women  have  a  short  petticoat  of  coarse  calico,  of  their  own  making, 
which  reaches  a  little  below  the  knees.  Both  sexes  wear  ear-rings  made 
of  a  yellow  metal,  which  they  dig  out  of  the  mountains  ;  it  is  of  th& 
weight  of  tru5  gold,  but  rather  paler.  Our  author  is  not  absolutely  cer 
tain  whether  it  was  real  gold  or  not,  for  though  of  a  fine  colour  at  first 
it  afterward  faded,  which  making  the  people  on  board  suspect  it,  they  did 
not  buy  much.  They  observed  the  natives  cover  it  with  a  kind  of  red 
earth,  and  then  put  it  into  a  quick  fire,  till  it  was  red-hol,  which  broughs 
it  to  its  former  colour  again. 

The  houses  axe  very  small,  and  not  above  five  feet  in  height,  built  witb 
small  posts  fastened  together  with  boughs.  At  one  end  of  the  house  iN 
the  fire-place,  near  which  he  a  number  of  boards,  on  which  they  sleep. 
They  inhabit  villages  built  on  the  sides  of  rocky  hills,  three  or  four  rowf 
of  houses  being  one  above  another.  These  rocky  precipices  are  framed 
by  nature  into  deep  steps  or  stories,  upon  each  of  which  they  build  ». 
ruw  of  their  houses,  and  ascend  from  one  row  or  street  to  the  other  by 
ladders,  which  being  drawn  up,  there  is  no  possibility  of  climbing  to  at  - 
tack  them.  The  street  to  every  row  of  houses  runs  parallel  to  the  tops 
of  the  houses  of  the  row  beneath,  and  the  ladder  by  which  they  ascenflr 


is  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  street.     These  people  live  mostly  by  fish- 

ing  boats,  whi 

I'hey  have  also  larger  vessels,  which  are  managed  with  twelve  or  four- 


ing,  and  are  very  expert  in  building  boats,  which  resemble  our  yawls 


teen  oars.  What  husbandry  aflairs  they  carry  on,  are  managed  chiefly 
by  the  women.  It  was  customary  for  them  to  beg  the  paunches  of  thft 
hogs  and  goats  killed  by  the  ship's  crew,  the  contents  of  which  they  puV 
into  a  pot,  and  then  boiling  it,  eat  it  with  raw  fish  ;  but  they  have  a  dish 
made  of  locusts,  which  is  not  ill  tasted.  These  insects  coming  at  cer- 
tain seasons  to  devour  their  plants,  are  caught  with  nets,  and  bake  or 
boil  them  in  an  earthen  pan.  Their  common  drink  is  water,  but  they 
have  also  a  strong  and  intoxicating  liquor  called  baahec,  made  of  tha 
sugar  cane,  boiled  and  mixed  with  some  blackberries,  which  is  put  int<> 
jars  and  kept  five  or  six  days,  and  then  it  greatly  resembles  English  bee% 
both  in  colour  and  taste. 

Dampier  does  not  pretend  to  he  acquainted  with  their  language,  which 
is  neithev  like  the  Chinese  nor  Malay ;  but  he  observes  that  the  yiWow 
metal  already  mentioned,  is  called  by  the  name  of  bullawar,  which  is 
the  word  that  the  Indians  of  the  Philippine  islands  use  for  gold.  They 
have  no  arms  but  lances,  headed  with  iron,  and  wear  a  kind  of  coat  of 
mail  made  of  the  skin  of  the  buffalo,  which  is  as  thick  as  a  board,  has 
no  sleeves,  and  reaches  down  to  the  calves  of  their  legs.  These  people 
appeared  to  have  no  religion  or  government,  nor  any  precedency  among 
them,  except  that  the  children  were  very  obedient  to  their  parents  ;  but 
\e  fancies  they  have  aficient  customs  which  serve  them  for  laws,  for  they 
saw  a  young  lad  buried  alive,  as  they  supposed  for  theft.  Each  man  has 
only  one  wife,  who  is  very  obedient  to  her  husband.  Their  boys  are 
brought  up  to  fishing,  and  the  girls  work  on  the  plantations  with  their 
mothers,  where  each  faiiuly  cultivates  as  much  ground  as  is  necessary 


84  VOYAGES  ftClUND  THE  t^(5Rl0. 

for  its  own  supply.  They  are  civil,  good-tempered  people,  neither  quarrel^ 
ling  among  themselves  nor  with  others.  They  have  no  coin,  but  pass 
their  yellow  metal  as  money,  which  they  pay  away  by  guess.  On  the 
ship's  first  anchoring  here,  about  a  hundred  boats,  filled  with  the  natives^ 
came  round  her  at  once,  and  made  no  scruple  of  going  on  board,  ex- 
changing yams,  potatoes,  and  bashee,  for  leaden  bullets,  spikes,  and  old 
nails  ;  a  fat  goat  for  an  old  iron  hoop  ;  and  a  fat  hog  of  eighty  pounds 
weight  for  two  or  three  pounds  of  iron. 

On  the  35th  of  September  our  adventurers  were  driven  out  to  sea  by 
a  violent  storm,  which  continued  to  such  a  degree  till  the  29th,  that  they 
were  every  moment  in  danger  of  being  swallowed  by  the  waves  ;  and  it 
tvas  the  1st  of  October  before  they  could  get  back  to  Bashee  Island.  The 
men  were  so  discouraged  by  this,  that  they  determined  to  lay  aside  all 
thoughts  of  cruising  before  Manilla,  and  were  more  inclined  to  a  home- 
ward voyage  Chan  to  any  dthfer  enterprise  ;  but  Captain  Read  and  Mr. 
Teat  at  length  persuaded  them  to  steer  for  Cape  Comorin,  by  going  round 
lo  the  east  of  the  Philippine  islands,  and  so  keeping  south  Of  the  Spice 
islands,  to  pass  into  the  Indian  Ocean,  about  the  Island  of  Timor  ;  in- 
stead of  which,  as  the  eastern  monsoon  was  at  band,  our  author  observe*^ 
that  their  nearest  and  best  way  would  have  been  to  have  passed  through 
the  straits  of  Malacca. 

They  quitted  these  islands  with  fair  weather,  and  wind  at  west,  on  the 
3d  of  October^  1087;  and,  on  the  10th  of  the  same  month,  anchored 
between  two  small  islands  to  the  south  of  Mindanao,  where  they  hauled 
the  ship  on  shore  to  clean  her  bottom,  and  made  a  new  fore-topmast,  a 
pump,  a  fore-yard,  and  a  bowsprit.  At  this  place  a  young  prince,  belong- 
ing to  one  of  the  adjacent  Spice  islands,  came  on  board  and  informed 
them  that  Captain  Swan  and  his  men,  whom  thcy  left  behind  them,  ha(i 
fought  under  Raja  Laut  with  good  success  against  the  mountaineers,  and 
the  captain  was  in  great  esteem  at  Mindanao.  Being  now  so  near  him, 
our  author  would  have  persuaded  the  men  to  submit  once  more  to  his 
authority  ;  but  the  affair  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  Captain  Read,  he 
took  care  to  prevent  it.  After  this,  Mr.  Dampier  learned  that  most  of 
Swan's  men  got  on  board  different  ships,  but  that  he  himself  and  the 
surgeon  going  on  board  a  Dutch  vessel,  were  overset  by  the  natives  and 
drowned  ;  and  that  there  was  some  grounds  to  imagine  that  this  murdef 
was  perpetrated  by  order  of  Raja  Laut,  partly  in  revenge  for  some  slight- 
ing expressions  which  Swan  had  imprudently  uttered,  and  partly  for  the 
sake  of  some  gold  which  the  captain  had  amassed,  and  which,  by  his 
death,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  general. 

Thev  sailed  hence  on  the  2d  of  November  ;  on  the  22d,  being  three 
leagTies  to  the  southward  of  the  Island  of  Celebes,  saw  a  large  proa,  in 
which  were  sixty  men,  attended  by  six  smaller  ones,  to  whom  they  hoisted 
Dutch  colours,  but  in  vain,  with  a  view  to  allure  them  on  board.  On  the 
coast  of  this  island  saw  cockles  so  prodigiously  large,  that  one  was  suf- 
ficient to  feed  seven  or  eight  people.  A  kind  of  vine  also  grew  here,  the 
leaves  of  which  being  pounded  with  hog's  lard,  made  an  excellent  salve 
for  wounds.  In  three  degrees  south  latitude,  on  the  30th  of  November, 
they  discovered  three  water-spouts  :  these  are  very  dangerous  to  ship- 
ping, but  the  ill  consequences  of  them  are  sometimes  prevented  by  firing 
great  guns  in  order  to  break  them.  They  are  first  formed  upon  the  sur- 
face of  the  sea,  the  water  of  which,  after  whirling  about  a  long  time  in 
the  circumference  of  perhaps  a  hundred  paces,  flies  up  in  a  pyramidieal 
form  to  a  cloud,  which  crowns  it,  and  along  with  which  it  drives  upon  th« 


WtLtiAM  tiAMPlER.  §S 

tvater,  until  the  suction  being  spent,  the  spout  separates  from  the  cloud, 
and  the  water  falls  again  into  the  sea  with  a  dre-adful  noise,  and  destroys 
whatever  may  happen  to  be  beneath  it. 

On  the  Ist  of  December  steered  a  southern  conrse,  and  on  the  6th 
came  to  an  anchor  bn  the  east  side  of  the  Island  of  Duttbuj  lying  in  four 
degrees  fifty-four  minutes  eouth  latitude.  This  island  is  flat  and  woody, 
about  twenty-five  leagues  long  and  ten  broad.  At  half  a  mile  from  the 
sea  is  CallasUsUng,  the  residence  of  the  sultan  ;  it  is  a  long  town,  seated 
on  the  top  of  a  small  hill,  in  a  pleasant  plain,  enclosed  with  a  strong  stone 
wall,  within  which  is  a  walk  of  Cocoa  trees.  The  inhabitants  are  neat, 
clean,  small,  and  well  shaped  ;  in  manners  and  complexion  resembling 
those  of  Mindanao.  They  are  Mahometans,  and  speak  the  Malay  tongue. 
The  sultan,  hearing  the  ship  was  English,  came  on  bbard  with  three  of 
his  sons,  attended  by  sonie  of  his  nobles,  and  assured  Captain  Read  he 
would  serve  him  10  the  best  cf  his  power,  and  that  he  was  willing  to  tradR 
with  his  subjects  for  whatever  he  pleased.  The  captain  caused  him  to 
be  saluted  with  five  guns  ori  coming  on  board,  and  the  same  number  when 
he  went  on  shore.  The  people  brought  on  board  plenty  of  potatoes, 
eggs,  fowlsj  and  other  provisions  :  and  the  next  day  Read,  agreeable  to 
an  invitation,  visited  the  sultan  at  his  palace,  which  was  a  very  neat 
building.  He  was  recfeived  in  a  room  on  the  ground  floor,  covered  with 
mats,  after  having  first  passed  through  a  lane  of  forty  soldiers,  armed 
with  lances,  who  were  quite  naked  ;  and  vs^as  entertained  with  tobacco, 
betle,  and  cocoa  nuts.  Some  time  after,  the  sultan  made  him  a  present 
of  two  goats,  and  a  boy,  each  of  whose  jaws  were  lined  with  two  rows 
of  teeth.  The  island  abounded  in  rice  and  potatoes^  and  several  beauti- 
ful birds,  particularly  paroquets  and  cockadores.  The  cockadore  is  as 
white  as  snow,  with  the  shape  and  bill  of  a  partbt,  and  has  a  bunch  of 
feathers  like  a  crown  on  its  head. 

Captain  Read  remained  here  till  thd  12th,  but  in  attemj3ting  to  wfeigh, 
broke  the  cable  and  lost  the  anchor,  which  had  hooked  on  a  rock.  On 
the  16th  got  elear  of  the  shoals,  which  lie  in  great  numbers  about  thia 
island  ;  and  on  the  20th  passed  the  Island  of  Omba,  which  in  some  maps 
is  called  Pentara,  where  they  saw  thick  smokes  by  day  and  large  fires 
by  night.  There  is  a  good  town  on  the  north  side  of  this  island,  near 
the  sea  ;  but  they  could  not  stand  in  for  it,  on  account  of  the  badness  of 
the  weather.  Being  clear  of  all  the  islands  by  the  27th,  they  steered  for 
New  Holland,  which  land  they  fell  in  with  on  the  4th  of  January,  1688, 
in  latitude  sixteen  degrees  fifty  minutes  south.  They  ran  twelve  leagues 
along  the  shore  before  they  could  find  a  proper  place  to  anchor  in  ;  but 
the  following  day  discovered  a  good  harbour,  and  came  to  an  anchor  at 
the  distance  of  two  miles  from  the  shore. 

New  Holland  is  a  vast  tract  of  land,  which  joins  neither  to  Asia,  Africa, 
nor  America  ;  but  it  is  uncertain  whether  it  is  part  of  the  main  continent, 
or  an  island.  The  land  is  dry  and  sandy  :  near  where  they  anchored 
there  were  no  rivers  ;  sd  that  what  fresh  water  they  had  was  got  by  dig- 
ging. The  country  produces  many  kinds  of  trees,  which  grow  at  a  dis- 
tance from  each  other,  having  under  them  pretty  long  grass.  From  one 
of  these  trees  distilled  a  gum,  which,  on  examination,  appeared  to  be 
gum-dragon.  They  saw  no  animals,  but  discovered  the  footstep  Of 
some  beast  that  appeared  to  be  like  that  of  a  mastilf  dog.  They  found 
no  fruits,  and  very  few  birds,  the  largest  of  which  was  no  bigger  than  a 
thrush  ;  and  the  sea  appeared  almost  destitute  of  fish,  except  the  mana- 
tee and  turtle.     The  inhabitants  of  this  coputry  appear  to  be  the  most 

8 


86  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

miserable  people  on  earth  ;  having  no  garments  except  a  piece  of  the 
bark  of  a  tree  tied  like  a  girdle  round  the  waist ;  no  houses  or  coverings, 
but  the  heavens  ;  no  sheep,  poultry,  or  fruits  ;  their  food  being  a  small 
sort  of  fish,  brought  in  with  every  tide,  and  left  in  stone  weirs,  which  are 
erected  on  the  shore  at  low  water-mark  for  that  purpose  ;  and  they  have 
Rometimes  a  few  cockles,  muscles,  and  periwinkles  ;  whatever  they  catch 
is  equally  divided,  and  if  their  supply  fails,  they  are  in  danger  of  starving  ; 
but  this,  through  the  care  of  Providence,  seldom  happens.  These  people 
are  tall,  thin,  and  strong  limbed,  with  large  heads,  bushy  eye-brows,  broad 
flat  noses,  thick  lips,  wide  mouths,  short  black  curled  hair,  and  complex- 
ion as  dark  as  the  negroes  of  Africa  ;  and  like  them  also  have  no  beards. 
Their  features  are  disagreeable,  and  it  is  remarkable  that  the  two  fore- 
teeth of  the  upper  jaw  arc  wanting  both  in  men  and  women  ;  but  whether 
these  were  taken  out  by  way  of  ornament,  or  whether  it  was  a  natural 
defect,  Mr.  Dampier  does  not  pretend  to  be  certain.  There  appeared  to 
be  no  marriages  or  other  particular  connexions  between  the  men  and 
women,  but  they  lived  together  in  a  promiscuous  manner.  Neither  was 
it  observed  that  they  had  any  form  of  government,  or  practised  any  kind 
of  religious  ceremonies.  Their  only  weapons  were  wooden  swords,  and 
wooden  lances  formed  of  a  straight  pole,  made  sharp  and  hardened  at  the 
end.  Their  language  is  entirely  guttural,  and  none  of  the  ship's  compa- 
ny could  even  guess  at  the  meaning  of  a  single  word  they  uttered.  The 
flies  here  were  so  extremely  troublesome  they  were  apt  to  get  into  the 
eyes,  nose,  or  mouth,  for  which  reason  the  natives  commonly  kept  fheir  eyes 
half  shut,  and  are  obliged,  when  they  look  at  anything,  to  hold  their  hands 
before  their  eyes,  as  a  person  does  when  he  attempts  to  look  at  the  sun. 

The  first  appearance  of  the  ship's  crew  upon  the  coast  terribly  alarm- 
ed these  poor  people  ;  but  their  fears  subsided  on  finding  that  they  had  no 
intention  to  hurt  them.  Some  of  the  sailors  gave  them  clothes,  with  a 
view  to  prevail  upon  them  to  assist  in  carrying  water  to  their  canoes,  but 
they  could  by  no  means  make  themselves  understood,  and  the  natives 
having  examined  their  clothes  with  seeming  amazement,  grinned  at  each 
other  like  monkeys,  and  laid  them  down  on  the  ground.  Dampier  was 
threatened  to  be  put  on  shore  at  this  inhospitable  place,  for  endeavouring 
to  persuade  some  of  the  men  to  leave  the  ship,  and  go  to  some  English 
fcictor)'' ;  a  design  which  he  had  long  harboured,  but  now  gave  over  all 
thoughts  of,  till  some  convenient  opportunity  should  present  itself.  They 
left  the  coast  of  New  Holland  on  the  12th  of  March,  taking  their  course 
north  ;  on  the  28t.h  fell  in  with  a  small  island  covered  v/ith  wood,  in  10 
degrees  30  minutes  south  latitude,  where  they  caught  a  number  of  boo- 
bies and  land  crabs,  and  took  in  fresh  water.  On  the  r2th  of  April,  came 
to  the  Island  of  Triest,  which  is  about  a  mile  in  circumference,  and  so 
very  low,  that  the  tide  at  flood  flows  quite  over  it ;  but,  nevertheless,  it 
bears  great  plenty  of  cocoa  nuts,  with  which  they  supplied  themselves, 
and  caught  a  quantity  of  fish  and  two  young  alligators.  Leaving  this 
island  on  the  18th,  on  the  29th  saw  a  pioa  at  anchor,  with  four  men  in 
her,  whom  Captain  Read  very  inhumanly  detained  prisoners,  after  having 
seized  the  cargo,  which  consisted  of  oil  and  cocoa  nuts,  and  sunk  the 
vessel,  which  was  done  to  prevent  Mr.  Dampier  and  others,  whom  they 
euepected,  from  ijiaking  their  escape. 

On  the  4th  of  May  they  had  sight  of  the  Nicobar  islands,  which  lie 
forty  leag'acs  north-west  of  the  Island  of  Sumatra.  The  chief  commo- 
dities of  these  islands  are  ambergris  and  fruit,  which  the  natives  carry  in 
proas  on  board  such  ships  as  come  into  the  road.     They  came  to  an  an 


WiLLAtM  DAMPIHR.  ^t 

chor  in  eight  falhom  '^ater  on  the  6th,  at  the  west  side  of  the  Island  of 
Nicobar,  properly  so  called,  and  which  gives  name  to  the  others.  It  lies 
in  7  degrees  30  minutt-s  north  latitude,  is  twelve  leagues  in  length  and 
three  or  four  broad.  It  forms  a  beautiful  landscape  vvhen  seen  from  the 
sea  ;  the  soil  fertile  and  well  watered.  Many  sorts  of  trees  flourish  herf^, 
among  which  are  cocoas  and  mallories,  the  latter  being  a  fruit  of  a  light 
green  colour,  with  a  tough,  smooth  rind  ;  it  eats  like  an  apple,  and  is 
about  ihe  size  of  the  bread  fruit.  The  natives  are  tall  and  well  propor- 
tioned, with  black  eyes,  handsome  noses,  long  faces,  lank  black  hair,  and 
a  deep  copper-colour  complexion.  The  women  have  no  hair  on  their  eye- 
brows, which  it  is  imagined  they  pluck  off  to  increase  their  beauty  ;  their 
only  dress  is  a  short  petticoat,  which  reaches  no  lower  than  the  knees, 
and  the  men  have  only  a  piece  of  cloth  wrapped  round  the  waist,  and 
swathed  two  or  three  times  about  the  thigh.  Their  houses  consist  only 
of  one  room,  which  is  about  eight  feet  high  from  the  ground,  being  raised 
upon  posts,  and  covered  with  palmetto  leaves.  Their  language  was  alto- 
gether unintelligible,  nor  could  any  one  discover  any  sort  of  religion 
among  them,  nor  any  kind  of  settled  government,  every  one  appearing 
on  ail  equal  footing.  They  live  in  houses  scattered  about  the  island,  sel- 
dom more  than  four  or  live  being  found  together.  They  have  neither 
rice,  yams,  nor  potatoes,  but  plantains  in  a  moderate  quantity,  and  some 
cocks,  hens,  and  small  hogs.  Their  canoes,  or  proas,  will  contain  twenty 
or  thirty  men  ;  they  sit  upon  benches  made  of  split  bamboo,  and  row  in 
the  same  manner  that  the  watermen  on  the  Thames  do  the  wherries. 

At  this  place  Captain  Read  ordered  the  men  to  heel  the  ship,  in  order 
to  clean  her  ;  he  also  took  in  a  fresh  supply  of  water.  Here  Mr.  Dam- 
pier  obtained  leave  of  Captain  Read  to  go  on  shore  with  his  chest  and 
bedding,  being  resolved  to  leave  so  wicked  a  crew  ;  and  two  other  persons, 
named  Ambrose  and  Hall,  followed  his  example.  Mr.  Coppinge,  their 
surgeon,  was  very  desirous  of  bearing  them  company,  but  was  detained 
by  force.  There  were  but  two  houses  at  the  place  where  they  landed, 
the  master  of  one  of  which  invited  Mr.  Dampier,  by  signs,  to  enter,  inti- 
mating that  he  would  be  exposed  to  danger,  from  tlie  wild  beasts  of  the 
woods,  during  the  darkness  of  the  night.  The  four  men  that  had  been 
taken  in  the  proa  off  Sumatra,  and  the  pilot  they  brought  from  Pulo 
Condorc,  were  also  left  upon  this  island.     The  latter,  who  was  a  Porlu- 

fucse,  proved  a  useful  member  of  the  community,  as  he  understood  the 
ndian  and  Malay  tongues.  Captiin  Read  got  under  sail  about  twelve 
o'clock  at  night,  after  which,  Dampier  and  his  friends  laid  down  to  sleep, 
which  they  were  afraid  to  do  before,  lest  the  captain  should  have  repented 
liaving  given  thorn  liberty,  and  sent  some  of  his  people  to  force  them  on 
board  again;  and  perhaps  he  would  scarcely  have  permitted  them  to  go 
on  shore,  had  he  imagined  they  could  have  got  off  the  itiiand,  as  they 
afterward  did. 

D;impier  was  visited  by  his  friendly  host  early  in  the  morning,  together 
with  four  or  five  friends,  who  brought  with  them  a  large  calabash  filled 
with  toddy.  The  Indian  seemed  surprised  at  first  to  see  the  number  of 
his  guests  so  mech  increased,  but  he  soon  appeared  well  satisfied,  and  sold 
them  a  proa  for  an  axe,  v/hich  one  of  the  sailors,  knowing  it  to  bo  a  valu- 
able commodity  among  the  Indians,  had  stolen  and  brought  away  from 
the  ship.  This  skiff  was  about  the  size  of  a  wherry,  but  they  had  no 
sooner  got  on  board  with  all  their  effects,  than  she  overset,  and  it  cost 
three  days'  time  to  dry  their  papers,  clothes,  and  other  goods. 

At  length,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Achin  sailors,  ihcy  set  the  ve5&«.' 


to  rights,  fitted  her  out  with  a  good  mast  and  balance-logs,  or  dut-rig.* 
gers  ;  after  which  they  steered  for  the  east  side  of  the  island,  being  fol- 
lowed by  the  inhabitants  in  eight  or  ten  canoes,  whom  Mr.  Hall  frightened 
away  by  tiring  a  gun  over  their  heads,  being  apprehensiA'e  that  such  a 
laige  company  would  enhance  the  price  of  provisions.  This  inconside- 
rate action  had  like  to  have  been  productive  of  ill  consequences,  for  their 
itiost  useful  hands,  the  Achin  men,  were  sd  frightened,  that  they  leaped 
out  of  the  canoe,  and  it  was  some  time  before  they  could  be  convinced 
that  no  injury  was  intended  them.  It  also  intimidated  the  inhabilantsj 
vVho,  till  then,  had  biiought  them  provisions,  which  they  used  to  purchase 
for  old  rags  and  small  pieces  of  cloth.  After  this,  the  inhabitants  ap- 
peared in  great  numbers  everywhere  to  oppose  their  landing  ;  however,  in 
a  day  or  two,  Dampier  and  Hall  leaped  on  shore  in  sight  of  a  great  many, 
with  whom  they  soon  made  peace  by  shaking  hands,  upon  which  they 
Were  supplied  with  provisions  in  the  same  abundance  as  before.  Their 
provisions  consisted  of  mallcJries,  the  pulp  bf  which,  being  separated  from 
the  rind  and  the  core,  and  pres.$ed  together,  will  keep  six  or  seven  days  • 
some  cocoas,  and  a  few  hens.  These,  with  twelve  large  cocoa  nut  shells, 
and  two  or  three  bamboos,  all  which  contained  about  eight  gallons  of 
Water,  were  their  only  sea  store,  with  which  they  left  the  Island  of  Nicobar 
bn  the  15th  of  May,  1688,  and  directed  their  course  toward  Achin. 

After  being  three  days  at  sea,  they  observed  the  sky  beginning  to  be 
cloudy  ;  also  a  halo,  or  bright  circle,  encompassing  the  sun,  an  infaUible 
prognostic  of  bad  weather  ;  accordingly,  they  were  attacked  by  so  dread- 
ful a  storm,  that  they  expected  every  moment  to  be  swallowed  by  the 
eea ;  but  the  next  day,  after  such  a  tempest  of  wind,  thunderj  lightning-, 
and  rain  as  it  was  astonishing  their  vessel  could  outlive,  they  were  agreea- 
bly surprised  to  h.oar  one  of  their  Achin  sailors  call  out  Pulo-way,  (thai 
is,  the  Island  of  Way,)  which  is  situated  near  the  north-west  end  of  Suma- 
tra. After  some  hours  they  discovered  that  what  they  had  taken  for  the 
Island  of  Way  was  the  golden  mountain  of  Sumatra. 

The  next  day  they  anchored  near  the  mouth  of  the  River  PassangC 
tonca,  in  the  Island  of  Sumatra,  thirly-six  leagues  from  Achin  :  and  as 
they  were  half  dead  with  the  fatigues  of  the  voyage,  they  were  carried 
to  a  small  fishing  town  near  the  river,  and  entertained  With  great  kind- 
ness by  the  inhabitants.  The  news  of  their  arrival  being  carried  to  seve- 
ral of  the  Oramkis,  Or  noblemen,  they  came  to  see  them  ;  and  having 
heard  their  adventures,  ordered  a  house  to  be  provided,  and  sent  them 
plenty  of  rice,  fish,  eggs,  fowlsj  plantains,  and  cocoas.  They  remained 
here  till  June,  but  recovered  their  health  very  slowly  :  Ihey  then  deter- 
mined to  proceed  to  Achin,  where  there  is  an  English  factory  ;  for  which 
purpose  they  embarked  on  board  a  proa,  which  in  three  days  carried  theni 
safe  to  that  place.  Here  they  were  received  with  great  friendship,  and 
treated  with  great  hospitality,  by  Mr.  Dennis  Driscolj  an  Iri.shman,  in  the 
service  of  the  East  India  companyj  who  acted  as  interpreter  between 
them  and  the  chief-magistrate,  who  is  called  the  Sabandar.  At  this  place 
t)ampier  commenced  an  acquaintance  with  Captain  Bowrey,  who  wanted 
him  to  make  a  voyage  tt)  Persia  as  boatswain;  but  his  ill  state  of  health 
would  not  permit  hini  to  accept  the  offer.  Mr.  Ambrose  and  Mr.  Hall 
fentered  on  board  BowrCy's  ship  ;  and  when  Dampier  had  recovered  his 
health,  he  engaged  with  one  Captain  Weldon,  with  whom  he  remained 
fifteen  months,  and  made  several  trading  voyages  ;  after  which  he  entered 
as  guimer  to  the  English  factory  at  Bencoolen,  in  which  station  he  con- 
tinued five  monthsj  but  disliking  the  governor  of  the  fort,  then  quitted  it. 


WILLIAM  DAMPIER.  89 

He  remained  upon  this  coast  till  the  year  1691,  and  then  embarked  on 
board  the  Defence,  Captain  Heath,  which  lay  in  the  road  of  Bencoolen. 
As  the  governor  had  given  him  permission  to  depart,  but  afterward  re- 
voked it,  he  was  obliged  to  make  his  escape  by  creeping  through  one  of 
the  port-holes  of  the  fort,  but  carried  oflf  his  most  valuable  papers,  and 
in  particular  his  journal.  He  got  on  board  the  2d  of  January,  1691,  and 
they  sailed  on  the  25th,  but  had  not  been  many  days  at  sea  before  a  fatal 
•distemper  raged  on  board,  by  which  they  lost  about  thirty  men.  They 
reached  the  cape  in  the  beginning  of  April,  when  the  sick  went  on 
shore,  and  were  supplied  with  mutton,  beef,  and  other  refreshments. 
Going  on  shore  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  he  took  with  him  an  extra- 
ordinary  person,  called  the  painted  prince,  whose  name  was  Joelly,  and 
who,  together  with  his  mother,  had  been  purchased  by  one  Mr.  Moody, 
at  Mindanao,  who  afterward  went  with  Mr.  Dampier  to  Bencoolen,  and, 
at  parting,  gave  him  the  half  share  of  the  painted  prince  and  his  mother, 
and  left  them  in  his  custody. 

These  people  were  born  on  the  Island  of  Meangis,  which  abounds  in 
gold,  cloves,  and  nutmegs.  The  prince  was  curiously  painted,  after  the 
manner  of  flower-work,  on  the  breastj  on  his  back,  between  his  shoul- 
ders, and  on  the  fore-part  of  his  thighs.  According  to  what  our  author 
could  learn,  this  painting  was  performed  by  pricking  the  skin,  and  rub- 
bing on  it  the  gum  of  a  tree  called  damurer,  which  is  used  instead  of 
pitch  in  some  parts  of  the  Indies.  He  told  Dampier  that  the  people  of 
his  country  fed  on  fowl,  fish,  and  potatoes,  and  wore  golden  ear-rings, 
and  bracelets  about  their  arms  and  legs.  As  to  his  being  made  captive, 
he  said  that,  as  one  day  he,  his  father,  and  mother  were  going  in  a  canoe 
to  one  of  the  adjacent  islands,  they  were  taken  by  some  fishermen  of 
Mindanao,  who  sold  them  all  to  the  interpreter  of  Raja  Laut,  with  whom 
he  and  his  mother  lived  as  slaves  five  years  ;  and  were  then  sold  to  Mr. 
Moody  for  sixty  dollars.  After  a  while  Mr.  Moody  gave  his  other  share 
of  these  people  to  Dampier,  who  tells  us  that  the  mother  soon  died,  and 
it  was  not  without  difficulty  he  was  able  to  preserve  the  life  of  the  son  ; 
whose  history  we  may  as  well  conclude  here,  by  observing  that  Mr. 
Dampier,  after  his  arrival  in  the  Thames,  being  in  want  of  money,  sold 
a  part  of  his  property  in  him  at  first,  and  afterward  the  whole  ;  from 
which  time  the  poor  Indian  was  carried  from  place  to  place,  and  shown 
for  money,  till  at  length  he  died  of  the  small-pox  at  Oxford. 

Having  remained  six  weeks  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  Captain  Heath 
sailed  on  the  23d  of  May,  and  arrived  at  St.  Helena  on  the  20th  of  June. 
They  left  this  island  on  the  2d  of  July,  in  company  with  other  ships 
bound  for  England,  and  on  the  16th  of  September,  1691,  anchored  in 
the  Downs?,  where  they  found  several  English  and  Dutch  ships  preparing 
to  cruise  against  the  French,  with  whom  they  were  then  at  war :  and 
our  adventurers  thought  themselves  very  happy  they  did  not  fall  into  the 
hands  of  their  enemies. 

The  publication  of  the  above  voyage  round  the  world  having  recom- 
mended Dampier  to  the  notice  of  persons  of  the  first  eminence,  he  was 
afterward  employed  by  government  in  discoveries  both  in  the  eastern  and 
southern  seas.  His  first  expedition  was  to  the  coast  of  New  Holland, 
which  could  have  no  other  object  but  discovery  in  view.  He  sailed  from 
the  Downs  on  January  11,  1698,  in  his  majesty's  ship  the  Roebuck,  car- 
rying only  twelve  guns  and  fifty  men,  and  having  twenty  months'  provi- 
sion on  board.  On  the  1st  of  August  they  fell  in  with  the  western  coast 
of  New  Holland,  ia  latitude  26  degrees  south,  where,  however,  they 

8* 


90  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

found  nothing  very  different  from  what  Dampier  had  before  described 
The  only  land  animals  they  sav/  wjcre  a  small  sort  of  racoons,  different 
from  those  of  the  West  Indies  chiefly  in  their  legs,  which  are  short  be- 
fore, and  on  which  they  run  jumping  ;  and  a  sort  of  guanoes,  or  lizards, 
peculiar  to  the  country,  which  appear  to  hdve  two  heads,  but  in  reality 
have  but  one,  and  no  tail ;  and  what  is  no  less  remarkable,  their  font 
legs  appear  to  be  all  fore-legs,  so  formed  that  the  creature  may  walk 
either  way.  To  these  may  now  be  added  the  kangaroo,  a  quadruped  of 
a  particular  shape,  as  large  as  a  sheep,  and  a  creature  of  the  opossum 
kind,  with  dogs  and  wolves  ;  of  the  latter  sort  some  were  seen  by  Dam- 
pier's  men,  but  so  lean  that  they  were  nothing  but  skin  and  bone.  In 
latitude  23  degrees  south,  they  saw  dolphins  and  small  whales,  and  abun- 
dance of  scuttle  shells,  swimming  in  the  sea.  They  were  much  distress- 
ed for  water  here.  Being  ashore  employed  in  digging  a  well,  Dampier 
was  assaulted  by  ten  or  twelve  of  the  natives,  with  whom  he  had  a  skir- 
mish, and  was  forced  to  shoot  one  dead,  to  disengage  a  young  man  who 
was  surrounded  by  three  of  them,  and  wounded  in  the  cheek  with  a  lance. 
On  a  gun  being  (ired  over  the  heads  of  the  assailants,  though  it  star- 
tled them  at  tirst,  they  soon  recovered  their  surprise,  and  continued  their 
hostilities  ;  but,  as  soon  as  they  saw  a  man  fall,  were  terribly  frightened, 
and  fled  witii  precipitation.  Dampier  very  humanely  adds,  that  he  tres- 
passed on  the  natives  no  farther,  being  very  sorry  for  what  had  happened.' 

Our  voyager  not  being  able  either  to  find  fresh  water  or  a  harbour  to 
careen  his  ship,  set  sail  from  this  miserable  country  about  the  beginning 
of  September,  1699  ;  and,  directing  his  course  to  the  Island  of  Timor, 
arrived  there  September  15,  and  received  a  supply  of  water  and  provi- 
sions from  the  chief  of  the  Dutch  factory  there. 

In  his  return,  he  touched  again  at  Timor,  and  from  thence  sailed  to 
Batavia  ;  where,  having  careened  his  ship  and  supplied  himself  with 
necessaries  of  every  kind,  on  the  17ih  of  October,  1700,  he  set  sail  foi 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  ;  from  thence  continuing  his  voyage  to  St.  He- 
lena, he  arrived  at  that  island  January  31,  1701  ;  but,  in  his  course 
home,  his  ship  sprung  a  leak  at  sea,  and,  after  endeavouring  in  vain  to 
stop  it,  he  was  obliged  to  run  her  aground  on  the  Island  of  Ascension  ; 
where,  having  landed  his  men,  and  taken  from  on  board  all  necessary 
provisions,  they  in  a  short  time  discovered  a  fine  spring  of  water,  and_ 
lived  tolerably,  till  ihey  were  at  last  relieved  by  some  English  men-of- 
war,  v.'ho  were  convoying  home  the  Canterbury  Indiaman,  and  brought 
them  all  safe  to  England. 

In  1703,  notwiihstanding  the  bad  success  of  the  voyage  just  mentioned, 
Dampier  was  again  employed  in  an  expedition  to  the  South  Sea,  in  con- 
junction with  Captain  Pulling,  who  had  each  a  ship  of  twenty-six  guns 
and  120  men  under  his  command.  That  commanded  by  Captain  Dam- 
pier was  called  the  St.  George  ;  and  that  by  Captain  Pulling,  the  Fame. 
They  were  victualled  for  nine  months,  and  had  commissions  from  his 
Royal  Highness  Prince  George  of  Denmark,  then  lord-high-admiral,  to 
proceed  in  a  warlike  manner  against  the  French  and  Spaniards  ;  and 
both  were  upon  the  same  terms  of  no  prizes  no  pay.  But  while  in  the 
Downs,  some  difference  having  arisen  between  the  two  captains,  Pulling 
get  sail  alone,  and  left  Dampier  to  take  his  own  course  ;  who,  stopping 
some  time  in  Ireland,  was  joined  by  the  Cinque  Ports  galley  of  ninety 
tons,  sixteen  guns,  and  sixty-three  men,  Captain  Charles  Pickering  com- 
mander. In  this  expedition,  Dampier  had  three  grand  objects  in  view : 
the  first  was,  to  sail  to  Buenos  x\yre3  in  order  to  surprise  the  Spanish 


WILLIAM   DAMPIER  91 

galleons  that  usually  take  in  their  lading  at  that  port ;  the  second  de- 
pended on  missing  the  first,  in  which  case  they  were  to  pass  through  the 
straits  of  Mageljan  to  cruise  upon  the  coasts  of  Peru,  for  the  Baldivia 
ship,s  that  carry  gold  to  Lima  ;  and  the  third,  if  both  the  former  mis- 
carried, was  to  proceed  to  the  coast  of  Mexico,  to  intercept  the  Manilla 
ship  that  annually  arrives  at  Acapulco,  and  is  said  to  be  worth  eight  or 
nine  miliions  of  pieces  of  eight,  equal  to  a  million  and  a  half  of  English 
money. 

Full  of  these  projects,  they  set  sail  from  Kinsale,  in  Ireland,  on  the 
1  Uh  of  September,  1703,  and  on  the  25th  arrived  off  Madeira,  where 
they  learned  that  the  galleons  were  sailed  from  Buenos  Ayres,  and  then 
lay  at  Teneriff.  The  first  project  being  thus  defeated,  they  proceeded  to 
put  the  second  in  execution  with  all  possible  despatch.  On  the  24th  of 
JVovember  they  anchored  on  the  Island  of  Le  Grand,  on  the  coast  of 
Brazil,  where  they  buried  Captain  Pickeruig,  and  chose  Lieutenant 
Straddling  in  his  room.  From  this  island  they  sailed  on  the  8th  of  Decem- 
ber ;  and  doubling  Cape  Horn  on  the  20ih  of  January,  changed  their 
direction,  sailed  to  the  northward,  and  on  the  10th  of  February  came  to 
an  anchor  in  the  great  Bay  of  Juan  Fernandez,  where  they  met  their  con- 
sort. Captain  Stradling,  with  whom  they  had  parted  in  passing  Cape  Horn 
in  a  violent  storm,  which  happened  on  the  26th  of  January. 

At  Juan  Fernandez  they  continued  refitting  their  ships  till  the  29th, 
when  seeing  a  sail,  they  slipped  their  cables  and  put  to  sea.  She  proved 
to  be  a  French  ship  of  400  tons,  thirty  guns,  and  full  of  men.  The  St. 
George  fought  her  about  seven  hours,  when  a  gale  springing  up  she 
sheared  otf.  Ou  this  occasion  the  Cinque  Ports  behaved  but  indifie- 
rcully,  firing  only  a  few  guns,  and  lying  by.  Next  day,  in  returning  to 
Juan  Fernandez,  they  fell  in  with  two  French  men-of-war,  of  thirty-six 
guns  each  5  frotn  whom  they  narrowly  escaped,  leaving  their  cables,  an- 
chors, and  five  or  six  of  their  men  beiouging  to  the  Cinque  Ports  on 
tiiat  island,  with  a  new  suit  of  sails,  and  several  other  necessaries  which 
they  could  ill  spare.  They  now  proceeded  upon  their  second  enterprise  ; 
but  were  equally  unfortunate  in  that  as  in  the  former.  The  BaldJvian 
ships  were  sailed,  and  the  gold  secured.  They  then  meditated  a  sur- 
prise against  the  town  of  Santa  Maria,  in  the  Gulf  of  Panama,  where 
the  Spaniards,  getting  intelligence  of  their  designs,  laid  ambuscades,  and 
after  killing  and  wounding  several,  put  the  rest  to  flight. 

In  this  manner,  disappointment  succeeding  disappoiulment,  dififerences 
began  to  arise  between  the  commanders,  and  they  concluded  to  part 
company.  But  about  this  time  a  large  ship,  fortunately  for  them, 
coming  to  an  anchor  in  the  night  close  by,  they  instantly  boarded  and 
made  prize  of  her.  She  was  deeply  laden  with  flour,  sugar,  brandy, 
wine,  about  thirty  tons  of  malraalade  of  quinces,  a  considerable  quantity 
of  salt,  with  some  tons  of  linen  and  woollen  cloth.  This  proved  a  sea- 
sonable supply  ;  and  provisions,  that  were  before  so  scarce  that  only  five 
green  plantains  were  the  daily  allowance  for  six  men,  were  now  so  abun- 
dant on  board  the  prize,  that  they  might  have  laid  in  a  slock  for  several 
years ;  yet,  in  less  than  six  months,  we  find  them  starving.  After 
searching  the  prize  and  dividing  the  spoil,  the  captains  parted  ;  and  in 
two  or  three  days  Dampier  fell  in  with  a  Spanish  man-of-war,  fitted  out 
on  purpose  to  take  him.  The  two  ships  had  a  smart  engagement,  and 
parted  in  the  night  by  consent. 

Soon  after  this  engagenient,  Dampier  and  Clippington,  his  first  lieu 
tenant,  having  some  dUTerence,  Clippington  seized  upon  the  ship's  tender, 


92  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

in  which  were  the  stores  and  ammunition,  and  with  twenty-one  of  the 
best  men  weighed  anchor  and  set  sail.  When  he  had  cleared  the  islands, 
he  sent  to  invite  all  those  who  were  willing  to  sail  with  him  to  come  on 
board  ;  but  Dampier's  last  project  being  now  on  the  point  of  being  carried 
into  execution,  the  men  who  remained  with  him  resolved  to  abide  the 
issue.  The  master  of  this  bark,  Christian  Martin  by  name,  was  a  Spa- 
niard by  birth,  but  taken  prisoner  while  a  boy,  and  bred  up  in  England. 
This  man  they  kept  prisoner  on  board,  and  now  proceeded  to  intercept 
the  Manilla  ship. 

On  the  6th  of  December,  in  the  morning,  they  saw  a  sail,  and  soon 
came  up  with  her.  She  proved  their  last  hope,  the  great  Manilla  ship, 
from  the  East  Indies.  They  instantly  bore  down  upon  her,  and  before 
she  could  bring  her  guns  to  bear,  gave  her  several  broadsides  ;  and,  taking 
her  unprepared,  put  the  company  on  board  in  the  utmost  disorder.  Cap- 
tain Martin,  though  a  Spaniard,  advised  to  lay  her  aboard  immediately, 
before  the  Spaniards  had  recovered  their  surprise  ;  but  that  advice  was 
disregarded  till  it  was  too  late  ;  for,  while  two  parties  were  quarrelling 
on  board  the  St.  George,  the  one  for  laying  the  enemy  on  board,  the 
other  not,  the  Spaniards  got  out  a  tier  of  twenty-four  pounders,  every 
one  of  which  that  took  place  was  ready  to  send  the  St.  George  to  the 
bottom.  The  assailants  were,  therefore,  soon  beaten  off  with  disgrace, 
after  having  received  a  shot  between  wind  and  water  in  the  powder-room, 
by  which  two  feet  of  planking  was  driven  in  on  each  side  the  stern. 
And  now,  being  disappointed  of  this  their  last  expectation,  all  the  men 
grew  discontented,  and  impatient  to  return  home.  However,  they  were 
prevailed  upon  to  cruise  a  few  weeks  longer  on  the  coast  of  Mexico  ; 
and  with  that  view  passed  the  ports  of  Acapulco,  Port  Angels,  Port 
Guatulco,  and  several  others  ;  but  without  meeting  any  prize  worth  wait- 
ing for. 

Ill  success  is  generally  succeeded  by  discontent ;  the  men  v.'ho  were 
before  impatient  of  fatigue  without  reward,  grew  now  ungovernable.  A 
party,  therefore,  formed  the  design  of  returning  home  by  way  of  the  East 
Indies  ;  and  these  were  encouraged  by  Mr.  Funnel,  the  chief-mate,  who, 
having  the  command  of  the  small  Spanish  prize  already  mentioned,  de- 
termined to  hazard  everything  to  regain  his  native  country,  rather  than 
continue  under  the  direction  of  a  man  with  whom  they  could  not  agree, 
lie  therefore  embraced  the  first  opportunity  to  reach  the  Gulf  of  Ama- 
palla,  to  water  his  bark,  and  prepare  for  his  voyage  home. 

It  should  seem  that  this  voyage  of  Darapier,  though  countenanced 
with  a  government  commission,  was,  notwithstanding,  fitted  out  by  private 
adventurers  ;  for,  on  this  occasion,  the  owners'  agent  is  said  to  have 
divided  the  provisions  and  stores  between  those  who  chose  to  remain 
with  Dampier,  and  those  who  determined  to  follow  the  fortune  of  Mr. 
Funnel.  Their  whole  number  was  already  reduced  to  sirxty  effective  men, 
thirty-three  of  whom  chose  to  accompany  Funnel,  and  twenty-seven  only 
remained  with  Dampier,  but  upon  what  terms  they  engaged,  or  what 
course  they  pursued  afterward,  we  are  not  told  ;  for  Dampier,  though  he 
returned  home,  never  published  any  account  of  this  voyage.  What  we 
have  related  concerning  it,  in  order  to  complete  his  adventures  as  far  as 
our  materials  extend,  we  have  extracted  from  the  account  written  by 
Funnel ;  who,  having  left  Dampier  in  the  Gulf  of  Amapalla  on  the  1st 
of  February,  1705,  takes  no  farther  notice  of  his  captain;  but  goes  on 
with  the  story  of  his  own  voyage,  which  was  indeed  unfortunate  enough  ; 
for  his  ship  was  siezed  by  the  Dutch  at  Ambovna.  the  goods  on  board 


COWLEY.  9, 

confiscated,  and  most  of  the  men  cruelly  used,  being  confined  and  hal. 
starved  by  the  Dutch,  who  were  jealous  lest  they  should  make  discove- 
ries prejudicial  to  their  commerce.  Funnel  himself,  however,  soon  got 
released  ;  and,  having  made  strong  representations  against  the  authors 
of  his  sufferings  at  Amboyna,  at  length  obtained  some  show  of  redress  ; 
with  which,  though  not  a  compensation  for  his  losses,  he  was  forced  to 
be  contented.  On  the  2d  of  November  he,  with  two  of  his  company,  got 
passage  to  Europe  in  the  Dutch  East  India  fleet;  and,  on  the  15th  of 
July  following,  arrived  safe  in  the  Texel,  from  whence,  after  visiting  the 
principal  towns  in  Holland,  he  came  to  England,  and  published  the  ac- 
count just  mentioned,  in  which  he  followed  the  example  of  Dampier,  by 
giving  a  description  of  the  natural  productions  of  the  islands  at  which  he 
touched,  their  inhabitants,  arts,  and  commerce. 


Mr.  COWLEY.— 1683-86. 


Of  Cowley  we  can  find  no  other  account  than  what  i.s  contained  in 
the  voyage  written  by  himself ;  therefore,  we  shall,  in  his  own  words, 
preserve  such  parts  of  that  voyage  as  have  not  already  been  related  iv 
the  voyage  of  Dampier  ;  premising  only,  that  in  his  first  setting  out  among 
the  bucaniers  was  in  the  same  prize  in  which  Dampier  set  sail  from 
Virginia,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Cook  ;  that  he  continued  to 
serve  that  commander,  as  master,  during  his  life  ;  and  that,  after  sailing 
some  time  in  consort  with  Captain  Eaton  in  the  South  Seas,  he  chose 
rather  to  serve  that  gentleman  than  to  continue  with  his  own  captain's 
successor.  One  remark  more,  and  then  to  proceed.  We  find  him,  in 
every  collection  of  voyages  in  which  he  is  introduced,  distinguished  by 
the  appellation  of  Captain  Cowley,  though  the  highest  employment  to 
which  he  ever  seems  to  have  arrived  was  master  on  board  the  bucaniers. 

We,  in  our  ship,  says  Cowley,  toward  the  middle  of  August,  set  sail 
from  the  Gulf  of  Miguel,  in  the  Bay  of  Amapalla,  steering  for  Cape 
St.  Francisco,  where  we  chased  a  ship  that  escaped  from  us  ;  and  then 
bore  up  to  latitude  7  degrees  south,  where,  finding  the  country  alarmed, 
we  stood  for  Payta,  in  latitude  4  degrees  south,  where  we  took  two  ships 
lying  at  anchor  ;  which  the  Spanish  refusing  to  ransom,  we,  by  way  of 
farewell,  set  them  on  fire.  From  hence  we  sailed  for  Gorgona,  at  which 
island  we  watered  our  ship  for  the  East  Indies. 

This  island  lies  in  latitude  3  degrees  15  minutes  north,  and  in  longi- 
tude 305  degrees  east,  and  as  soon  as  we  had  supplied  ourselves  with 
wood  and  water,  took  our  departure,  steering  west-north-west,  till  we 
came  as  low  almost  as  the  rocks  of  St.  Bartholomew,  in  ionwitude  240 
degrees,  and  then  sailed  into  latitude  15  degrees  norlh,  till  judging  we 
were  passed  those  rocks,  returned  into  13  degrees  north,  which  latitude 
we  held  till  we  made  the  Island  of  Guam,  in  latitude  13  degrees  north, 
and  in  longitude  150  degrees  east,  according  to  our  reckoning;  at  which 
island  we  had  a  very  sickly  ship,  no  man  being  free  from  the  scurvy,  and 
most  of  us  in  a  weak  condition.  It  was  on  the  14th  of  March,  about 
seven  in  the  morning,  that  we  saw  land.  At  twelve  o'clock  we  were  in 
latitude  13  degrees  2  minutes  north,  by  observation,  having  made  out 
on  our  sailing,  by  judgment,  7346  miles,  that  is  to  say,  departed  so  many 
miles  from  Gorgona  by  loss  made  out  in  longitude,  which  is  about  2549 
leagues.  The  next  day  we  sailed  about  the  south-west  part  of  the  island, 
and  came  to  an  anchor  in  a  fair  bay,  from  whence  we  sent  a  boat  on  shore, 


94  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

with  a  flag  of  truce  ;  but,  on  landing,  our  people  found  that  the  natives 
had  burnt  their  houses,  and  had  fled ;  however,  our  men  felled  some 
cocoa  nut  trees,  and  brought  a  hundred  or  two  on  board  to  refresh  the 
crew.  In  the  meantime  a  party  of  Indians  rushed  from  behind  the 
bushes,  and  in  a  hostile  manner  threatened  to  attack  us  ;  but  we  made 
signs  of  friendship,  and  one  of  the  Indians  returned  to  the  wood,  and 
having  peeled  a  stick  so  as  to  make  it  appear  white,  he  came  forward, 
when  one  of  his  companions,  perceiving  that  he  had  no  cap  to  compliment 
our  people,  called  him  back,  and  presented  him  with  one  for  that  purpose. 

From  the  15th  till  the  17th  we  continued  a  free  trade  with  the  Indians ; 
but  on  that  day  our  men  going  over  to  a  small  island  on  the  west  side  of 
Guam,  the  Indians  fell  upon  them  with  stones  and  lances,  which  occa- 
sioned a  fray,  in  which  some  of  the  Indians  were  killed  upon  the  spot. 
Two  days  after,  the  governor,  who  happened  to  be  a  Spaniard,  came  to 
a  point  of  land  near  the  ship,  and  sent  a  letter  written  in  Spanish,  French, 
and  Dutch,  demanding,  in  the  name  of  the  king,  his  master,  who  we 
were,  whither  we  were  bound,  and  from  whence  we  came  1  Ouj  answer 
was  written  in  French,  that  we  were  employed  by  some  gentlemen  in 
France  upon  the  discovery  of  some  unknown  parts  of  the  world.  On 
the  return  of  the  messenger,  the  governor  sent  a  letter  of  invitation  to 
the  captain  to  come  on  shore,  with  which  he  instantly  complied,  and  was 
received  under  a  triple  discharge  of  cannon  from  the  fort,  which  was 
answered  by  the  same  number  of  guns  from  the  ship.  They  soon  came 
to  a  good  understanding.  Our  captain  made  an  apology  for  killing  some 
of  the  Indians  in  his  own  defence  ;  and  the  governor  gave  for  answer, 
j,hat,  if  he  had  killed  them  all,  he  should  have  esteemed  the  favour  the 
greater.  We  were  afterward  told  that  the  Indians  on  the  small  island 
were  in  rebellion. 

On  Wednesday,  about  twelve  o'clock,  a  Spanish  captain  came  onboard, 
and  continued  with  us  till  twelve  the  next  day.  He  brought,  as  a  present 
from  the  governor,  ten  hogs,  a  large  quantity  of  potatoes,  plantains, 
oranges,  papas,  and  red  pepper ;  in  return  for  which,  our  commander 
sent  the  governor  a  diamond  ring,  and  presented  the  officer  with  a  rich 
sword.  While  mutual  civilities  were  passing  between  the  governor  and 
the  captain,  our  people  went  out  every  day,  chasing  the  Indians,  whom 
they  had  full  license  to  kill  and  destroy  wherever  they  met  with  them  ; 
but  they,  finding  us  not  to  be  Spaniards,  became  very  tractable,  and 
offered  to  assist  in  supplying  us  with  fish  and  fruit,  which  they  exchanged 
for  old  nails  and  old  iron.  After  having  tarried  here  some  time,  and  a 
free  intercourse  had  been  established  between  the  Indians  on  shore  and 
our  people  on  board  the  ship,  the  Indians  made  signs  for  as  many  of  our 
men  as  chose  it,  to  come  and  see  them  haul  the  seine.  Our  men,  not 
suspecting  apy  design,  manned  the  boat,  and  went  to  look  at  them  ;  but, 
while  the  men  were  amusing  themselves  with  the  sport,  the  Indians  had 
very  artfully  brought  their  seine  round  the  boat,  with  a  design  to  draw  it 
on  shore,  and  thereby  entangle  both  boat  and  crew ;  but  the  sailors,  dis- 
covering the  plot,  gave  the  Indians  no  time  to  carry  it  into  execution  ; 
for,  being  provided  with  fire-arms,  which  they  never  went  ashore  without, 
they  fired  among  the  thickest  of  the  crowd,  killed  a  great  many,  and 
drove  the  rest  away.  These  Indians  are  large  in  stature,  some  being  six 
feet  and  a  half  high  ;  they  go  stark  naked  ;  never  bury  their  dead,  but  let 
them  lie  in  the  sun  to  rot.  They  have  no  arms  but  slings  and  lances  ; 
the  sharp  ends  of  the  latter  are  pointed  with  dead  men's  bones,  which, 
being  cut  like  scoops,  and  jagged  at  the  edges  like  unto  saws,  if  a  man 


COWLEY.  95 

happens  to  be  wounded  by  them,  and  is  not  cured  in  nine  days,  he  cer- 
tai»ly  dies.  Our  people  took  four  of  these  treacherous  savages  prisoners, 
bound  them,  and  brought  them  on  bo:ird  ;  but  they  had  not  been  long 
among  us,  before  three  of  them  leaped  into  the  sea,  and,  with  their  hands 
tied  beiiind  them,  swam  away  like  fishes.  The  Spanish  governor's  kind- 
ness increased  in  proportion  to  the  mischief  done  to  the  Indians.  He 
sent  us,  the  succeeding  day,  by  one  of  his  captains,  thirty  hogs,  some 
melons,  pumpions,  potatoes,  fruits,  and  rice,  and  received  in  return  si.^ 
small  patararoes.  Having  now  rigged  anew  our  ship,  and  supplied  our- 
selves with  wood  and  water,  we  began  to  prepare  for  our  departure. 

On  the  1st  of  April  weighed  anchor,  and  next  day  came  abreast  of  the 
fort,  which  we  saluted  with  three  guns,  and  were  complimented  with  the 
same  number ;  and,  on  the  3d,  the  governor  sent  his  last  present  to  our 
captain.  On  the  4th  set  sail,  and  steered  W.  by  S.  till  we  arrived  at  the 
height  of  St.  Bartholomew,  then  shaped  our  course  W.  N.  W.  till  in  the 
latitude  of  20  degrees  30  minutes  north,  when  we  fell  in  with  a  cluster 
of  islands,  lying  to  the  north  of  Luconia,  distant  from  Guam  560  leagues. 
They  seemed  to  be  uninhabited ;  but  the  men  who  went  on  shore  in  the 
boat,  found  abundance  of  nutmegs  on  one  of  the  clusters,  and  saw 
some  goats. 

From  these  islands  we  steered  S.  W.  for  the  island  of  Luconia,  and 
on  the  25th  of  April,  Cape  Bajadore  bore  from  us  east ;  after  which  we 
came  up  with  Cape  Mindato,  where  the  S.  W.  monsoon  overtaking  us, 
we  were  obliged  to  bear  away  for  Canton,  in  Ciiina,  where  we  lay  and 
refitted  our  ship,  and  where  we  might  have  laden  ourselves  with  plunder 
from  thirteen  Tartar  ships,  which  came  thither  full  of  the  richest  goods  of 
China ;  but  our  men,  being  under  no  government,  refused  to  attack 
them ;  saying,  they  came  fjr  gold  and  silver,  not  to  be  made  pedlers 
to  carry  packs. 

From  Canton  we  sailed  for  Manilla,  to  wait  for  the  Tarler  ship  that 
annually  goes  thither,  and  which  we  were  informed  was  laden  one-half 
with  silver ;  but,  though  we  were  fortunate  enough  to  come  in  sight  of 
her,  she  out-sailed  us,  and  escaped.  We  then  bore  away  for  an  island 
that  lies  to  the  .north  of  Luconia,  intending  there  to  stay  till  the  wind 
came  fair  to  carry  us  to  Bantam,  not  then  knowing  that  Bantam  had  been 
taken  from  the  English  by  the  Dutch.  At  this  island  we  stored  ourselves 
with  fruit,  goats,  and  guanoes ;  which  last  are  here  good  meat  :  here 
was  found  an  Indian,  who  directed  us  to  an  island  containing  plenty  of 
great  cattle  ;  but  the  wind  soon  coming  fair,  we  made  sail  to  the  south- 
ward, steering  our  course  S.  S.  W.  till  in  latitude  10  degrees  N.,  where 
we  were  so  entangled  among  the  islands  of  Paragn,  that  none  ever  ex- 
pected to  escape  with  life.  After  three  days,  however,  we  very  provi- 
dentially got  clear,  and  stood  in  for  an  island  at  the  north  end  of  Borneo, 
where  we  hauled  our  ship  on  sliore,  and  erected  a  tent,  planting  a  bat- 
tery of  ten  guns  for  defence,  in  case  of  an  attack  from  the  natives.  Here, 
unloading  the  ship,  and  having  provided  sufHcIently  for  our  security,  we 
ranged  the  country  for  natives  to  trade  with  us  ;  but  they,  having  never 
seen  any  white  men  b.^fore,  proved  very  shy  ;  and  when^  by  chance,  our 
men  fell  in  with  one  of  their  canoes,  filled  vvith  women,  among  whom  was 
the  queen  of  the  country  and  her  retinue  ;  on  the  approach  of  our  ship's 
boat,  they  all  leaped  over-board  ;  but,  after  taking  them  up,  and  treating 
them  kindly,  they  laid  aside  their  fears,  and  grew  familiar ;  and,  upon 
our  offering  them  civility,  instead  of  avoiding,  they  soon  became  fond  of 
us.     They  brought  fish  in  great  plenty,  with  oranges,  lemons,  mangoes. 


96  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

plantains,  and  pine  apples  ;  and,  besides  these,  we  exchanged  some  trifles 
for  bezoar,  musk,  and  civet,  with  which  the  island  is  well  stored. 

The  year  was  now  drawing  to  a  close,  when  we  set  sail  from  this  little 
island,  steering  a  course  for  Timor,  where,  finding  the  ship's  compan)' 
begin  to  grow  mutinous,  and  not  under  command  of  the  captain,  myself, 
Mr.  Hill,  and  eighteen  more,  joined  our  forces  together,  and  purchased  a 
large  boat,  in  which  we  sailed  to  the  Island  of  Java,  distant  from  Timor 
300  leagues.  The  wind  being  contrary  for  Batavia,  we  bore  away  for 
Cheribon,  a  factory  belonging  to  the  Dutch,  lying  eastward  of  Batavia, 
where  we  were  kindly  received  by  the  governor.  There  we  heard  that 
King  Charles  of  England  was  dead,  and  that  his  brother  James  was 
proclaimed  king  ;  we  heard  also  that  Bantam  had  been  taken  from  the 
English,  and  that  the  Dutch  had  erected  a  new  factory  on  that  island. 

After  refreshing  at  Cheribon,  we  agreed  to  divide  our  twenty  men  into 
three  parties  ;  two  of  which  chose  to  sail  for  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  and  the 
third  to  stay  with  me  ;  but  knowing  that  Batavia  was  the  Hollanders' 
magazine  for  India,  we  proposed  first  to  sail  thither,  and  there  to  provide 
each  for  himself  as  well  as  he  could.  Having  arrived,  we  were  courte- 
ously received  by  the  general ;  and  T,  with  Mr.  Hill  and  another  friend, 
all  my  party,  were  promised  our  passage  to  Europe  in  their  East  India 
fleet.  About  this  time  the  general  was  sending  four  or  five  ships-of-war, 
with  soldiers,  to  procure  satisfaction  from  the  king  of  the  island  for  an 
outrage  that  had  been  committed  on  a  party  of  Hollanders,  who,  to  the 
number  of  eighty,  had  been  slaughtered  by  the  Javanese.  These  ships, 
it  seems,  were  originally  designed  against  Sillebar,  an  English  settlement 
on  the  west  coast  of  Sumatra  :  but  this  act  of  hostility  happening  to  in- 
tervene, it  had  diverted  their  purpose,  and  saved  the  factory  for  this  time. 
There  were  now  in  Batavia  twenty  of  us,  who,  on  hearing  this  news, 
would  willingly  have  repaired  to  Sillebar ;  but  the  Dutch  would  by  no 
means  permit  it,  though  we  had  bought  a  sloop  for  that  purpose. 

This  project  failing,  Mr.  Hill,  another  friend,  and  I,  embarked  on  board 
the  Solida  Indiamen,  bound  to  Holland  ;  and  when  leaving  the  road,  saw 
our  ship,  Captain  John  Eaton,  coming  in  ;  however,  we  held  our  course  ; 
but  finding  the  wind  unfavourable,  turned  down  to  Bantam  to  take  in 
provisions,  and  thence  steered  to  Prince's  Island,  where  we  lay  for  a  fair 
wind  three  weeks.  About  the  end  of  March,  set  sail  again  with  the 
wind  at  N.  W.,  and  shaped  our  course  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  On 
the  11th  of  May,  after  a  pleasant  passage,  made  the  land  called  Point 
Primicra,  bearing  N.  W.  distant  12  leagues.  We  had  the  wind  at  N.  E., 
being  distant  from  the  cape  560  miles,  the  land  tending  away  S.  W.  by 
W.  The  fish  which  came  about  the  ship  near  the  Island  of  Mona,  the 
30th  of  March,  left  us  now,  when  we  judged  ourselves  in  latitude  32 
degrees  47  minutes  south.  From  the  15th  of  May  to  the  29th,  we  had 
sailed  only  96  miles  ;  but  observing  next  day,  found  by  the  latitude  that 
we  had  a  very  strong  current,  that  had  driven  the  ship  to  the  southward 
34  miles  farther  than  by  the  reckoning ;  for  we  thought  we  had  been 
in  the  latitude  of  33  degrees  41  minutes  south,  whereas  we  found  our- 
selves in  latitude  34  degrees  15  minutes  south,  the  course  having  been 
S.  W.  40  miles.  I  argued  the  reason  with  the  chief-mate  of  the  ship,  and 
he  told  me  it  once  happened  in  this  place  that  they  lay-to  with  three 
main-sails,  and  the  wind  at  W.  S.  W.,  three  days  ;  and  when  they  took 
their  observation,  found  their  ship  driven  to  windward  200  English  miles  ; 
and  likewise  in  latitude  36  degrees  37  minutes,  it  is  said,  often  find  the 
ame  curious  occurence. 


COWLEY.  97 

% 

From  henfce  to  the  27th  nothing  remarkable  happened ;  but  on  that 
Jay  the  wind  blew  a  furious  storm  from  W.  S.  W.  We  lay-to  with  main- 
sails,  and  found  we  were  in  latitude  30  degrees  3  minutes  S.,  coming  in 
with  the  land  ;  and  now  the  current  went  to  the  eastward,  so  that  we  began 
to  fear  losing  our  passage  by  the  cape.  The  captain,  who  had  long  been 
sick,  was  now  judged  to  be  past  recovery,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  night 
died  :  this  occasioned  a  great  deal  of  confusion,  and  to  add  to  our  diffi- 
culties, water  began  to  fail,  and  we  were  reduced  to  a  pint  a  day  per  man. 

On  the  1st  of  Juno  again  came  in  sight  of  land.  It  appeared  like  a 
round  hill,  flat  at  top,  and  bore  from  us  N.  N.  E.,  with  a  smaller  hill  to 
the  eastward.  Next  day  we  were  before  the  harbour  o{  the  cape,  with 
the  wind  at  north,  and  fine  fair  weather.  On  the  third,  at  night,  came  to 
an  anchor  in  the  bay  before  the  castle,  in  nine  fathoms  water.  This  day 
four  of  the  natives  came  down  to  the  city,  dancing  naked,  and  offering 
their  wives  to  the  Hollanders  for  little  bits  of  tobacco.  They  were  the 
filthiest  men  I  ever  saw.  Next  day  my  two  friends  and  I  walked  about 
the  town,  in  which  are  about  100  houses,  built  very  low,  to  save  them 
from  the  boisterous  gales  of  wind  that  blow  here  in  the  months  of  Decem- 
ber, January,  and  February  :  but  the  Dutch  have  here  a  strong  castle, 
with  eighty  guns  well  mounted,  and  a  spacious  garden,  with  pleasant 
walks,  and  planted  with  almost  every  kind  of  fruit,  flowers,  and  herbs. 
This  is  the  greatest  rarity  that  we  saw  at  the  cape.  We  walked,  more- 
over, without  the  town  to  the  village  inhabited  by  Hottentots,  so  called  by 
the  Hollanders,  who  are  the  natives  of  the  country.  These  people  are 
said  to  be  born  white,  but  make  themselves  black  by  anointing  their  bodies, 
and  exposing  their  infants  to  the  sun  and  smoke.  Their  houses,  or  huts, 
are  built  in  a  circular  form,  with  the  fire-place  in  the  middle,  round  which 
they  all  lie  in  common,  covered  only  with  the  skins  of  some  beasts,  and 
without  any  other  bed  than  the  ashes  of  the  wood  on  which  they  dress 
their  meat.  They  eat  anything  that  is  foul,  and  will  gather  from  the 
dvmghills  the  offal  that  is  thrown  out  by  the  Dutch  to  feed  their  dogs. 
Their  men  are  not  at  all  jealous  of  foreigners  ;  but  will  beat  their 
wives  unmercifully  for  adultery  with  their  neighbours.  When  the  women 
marry,  they  cut  off  a  joint  of  the  middle  finger  ;  and  if  the  husband  dies, 
and  the  widow  marries  again,  she  cuts  off  another  joint ;  and  so  many 
men  as  they  marry,  so  many  joints  of  their  fingers  they  lose.  They  are 
supposed  to  worship  the  moon,  because  at  the  full  and  change  they  as- 
semble in  great  numbers,  dancing  and  rejoicing  when  she  shines,  but 
howling  and  lamenting  when  they  are  deprived  of  her  light. 

It  happened,  while  we  were  at  the  cape,  that  one  of  the  Hottentots 
drank  himself  dead  at  the  fort,  of  which  his  countrymen,  getting  intelli- 
gence, assembled  about  him,  and  with  oil  and  milk  endeavoured  to  reco- 
ver the  defunct ;  but  finding  all  their  efforts  vain,  and  that  they  could 
perceive  no  spark  of  life  remaining,  began  to  make  preparations  for  his 
funeral,  which  was  performed  in  the  following  manner.  They  first  brought 
knives,  and  shaved  him  from  head  to  foot ;  then,  digging  a  hole  in  the 
ground,  carefully  placed  him  in  a  sitting  posture,  with  his  body  and  head 
erect,  and  his  legs  and  thighs  stretched  out  horizontally,  and  pressed  down 
straight ;  this  being  performed,  they  propped  him  up  in  this  attitude  with 
stones  ;  and  then  came  a  company  of  their  women  to  howl  over  the  body, 
who  accompanied  their  lamentations  with  a  hideous  shrieking,  as  if  death 
appeared  before  them  in  the  shape  of  a  monster,  and  was  ready  to  devoui 
them.  After  their  time  of  mourning  was  over,  they  filled  up  the  hole 
with  curth,  and  covered  it  over  with  the  green  turf.     We  were  now  tliree 

0 


08  VOYAGES  ROtTND  THE  WORLD. 

ships  in  company,  to  sail  for  Europe,  the  Sohda  and  Critsman,  which  came 
together  from  Batavia,  and  the  Emeland,  which  came  from  Bengal.  On 
Tuesday,  ihe  iGtii,  pursued  our  course  to  the  N.W.  and  N.  W.  by  W. 
till  Tuesday,  the  29th,  without  any  material  incident  intervening. 

On  the  12th  of  July,  came  off  the  Island  of  Ascension,  and  next  day 
took  a  new  departure  from  thence.  On  the  20tb,  found  we  were  in  lati- 
tude 15  degrees  north.  Wednesday  the  22d,  made  the  longitude  from  the 
cape  1 1  degrees  56  minutes,  judging  ourselves  to  be  in  longitude  355 
degrees  56  minutes.  And  now  it  was  that  I  cut  the  same  line  which  I 
did  when  I  departed  from  Virginia  in  the  year  1683,  having  encompassed 
the  globe  ;  and  cannot  but  note,  that  I  have  been  farther  southward  than 
any  man  that  I  ever  heard  or  read  of  before  me,  in  this  voyage  ;  having, 
as  I  have  already  said,  reached  as  far  as  latitude  60  degrees  30  minutes 
south  ;  and  so  it  happened,  that,  being  bound  to  go  north  about  Scotland  to 
make  Holland,  I  passed  about  60  degrees  north,  though  I  mention  this  as 
no  extraordinary  thing.  "We  met  with  no  particular  occurrence  till  the 
2d  of  August,  when  our  captain,  after  three  days'  illness,  died  of  a  pain 
m  his  bowels.  His  chief  steersman  was  made  commander  in  his  room  ; 
but,  though  his  cause  was  warmly  espoused  by  the  men  on  a  former  oc- 
casion, yet  it  was  not  till  after  much  opposition  that  they  acquiesced  in 
his  present  advancement. 

On  Sunday,  the  19th,  when  the  weather  began  to  clear  up,  I  saw  land, 
as  did  also  two  men  more.  I  supposed  it  to  be  the  Island  of  Shetland  ; 
but  our  captain  would  not  believe  it ;  however,  about  six  in  the  evening, 
the  Critsman's  people  saw  land  also.  We  came  up  with  the  Isle  of  Far- 
ley by  the  22d,  steered  on,  and  on  the  25th  had  the  wind  all  round  the 
compass.  Next  day,  with  the  wind  at  E.  S.  E.,  we  found  ourselves  in 
latitude  53  degrees  35  minutes  north,  and  I  judged  us  to  be  on  the  West- 
bank.  On  Tuesday,  the  28th,  came  before  the  Maes,  with  the  wind  at 
E.  N.  E.  When  it  was  day  we  saw  the  Brill  church,  and  came  to  an  an- 
chor in  ten  ftithoms  water.  Next  day  we  entered  the  harbour  at  Helvoet- 
sluys,  after  having  been  seven  months  in  our  passage  from  Batavia. 


CAPTAIN  WOODES  ROGERS.— 1708-11. 

There  are  few  voyages  which  have  been  undertaken  with  equal  pru* 
dence,  or  for  which  such  careful  and  ample  preparations  have  been  made» 
as  for  the  followmg,  which  was  in  a  great  measure  owing  to  the  spirit  of 
the  gentlemen  of  Bristol,  at  whose  expense,  and  for  whose  emolument, 
the  undertaking  was  set  on  foot.  The  first  care  of  the  gentlemen  con- 
corned  was,  to  make  a  proper  choice  of  officers,  in  which  they  were  ex- 
tremely fortunate.  Captain  Woodes  Rogers,  who  commanded  in  chief, 
was  a  bold,  active,  indefatigable  officer;  and  was  chosen  by  the  proprie- 
tors for  the  peculiar  art  he  had.  of  maintaining  his  authority  over  the 
sailors,  and  his  readiness  in  finding  out  expedients  in  the  most  difficult 
conjunctures.  Captain  Stephen  Courtney  was  a  man  of  birth,  fortune, 
and  many  amiable  qualities,  and  had  contributed  largely  to  the  expense 
of  the  voyage.  Mr.  Thomas  Dover,  third  in  command,  was  also  a  pro- 
prietor ;  he  was  by  profession  a  physician,  and  the  same  who  afterward 
made  a  considerable  noise  in  the  world,  by  recommending  the  use  of  crude 
mercury  ;  he  was  a  man  of  a  rough  temper,  and  not  easily  pleased  ;  but  as 
he  had  not  the  chief  command,  this  was  of  the  less  consequence.  'Mr.  Ed- 
ward Cooke,  who  had  been  twice  taken  by  the  French,  was  second  captain 


WOODES  ROGERS.  99 

to  Mr.  Courtney,  and  the  chief  pilot  was  Captain  William  Dampier,  whose 
name  was  sufficiently  terrible  to  the  Spaniards  in  the  South  Seas. 

They  sailed  from  King-road,  Bristol,  on  the  1st  of  August,  1708,  their 
force  consisting  of  the  Duke,  a  ship  of  300  tons  burthen,  thirty  guns,  and 
170  men,  commanded  by  Captain  Woodes  Rogers  ;  and  the  Duchess, 
of  270  tons,  twenty-six  guns,  and  151  men,  under  the  command  of  Cap- 
tain Stephen  Courtney  ;  both  ships  having  legal  commissions  from  his 
royal  highness.  Prince  George  of  Denmark,  lord-high-admiral  of  England, 
to  cruise  on  the  coasts  of  Peru  and  Mexico,  in  the  South  Seas,  against 
her  majesty's  enemies,  the  French  and  Spaniards  ;  and  to  act  jointly,  as . 
belonging  to  the  same  owners,  the  merchants  of  Bristol. 

On  the  5th  of  August,  saw  the  Irish  shore,  and  came  to  an  anchor  m 
sight  of  Kinsale,  where  a  pilot  came  on  board  the  Duke,  and  undertook 
to  steer  her  into  the  cove  of  Cork.  Instead  of  which,  on  the  morning  of 
the  6th,  while  it  was  yet  dark,  and  the  weather  foggy,  he  would  have 
carried  her  into  a  bay  to  the  westward  of  Cork,  had  not  Captain  Rogers, 
who  happened  to  be  well  acquainted  with  the  coast,  prevented  him,  and 
brought  her  into  the  cove  himself,  where  she  came  to  an  anchor  the 
same  day.  While  in  this  harbour,  they  took  in  a  good  quantity  of  provi- 
sions, and  enlisted  a  number  of  seamen,  in  the  room  of  about  forty  fellows, 
some  of  whom  ran  away,  and  others  were  discharged  as  unfit  for  the  ser- 
vice. The  compliment  was  now  333,  among  whom  above  a  third  of  the 
number  were  foreigners  of  various  nations  ;  there  was  one  negro  and 
ten  boys  ;  and  of  the  English  and  Irish,  a  great  many  were  tinkers,  tai- 
lors, haymakers,  pedlers,  and  fiddlers.  With  this  mixed  crew  they  sailed 
from  Cork  on  the  1st  of  September,  in  company  with  the  Hastings  man- 
of-war,  which  sailed  with  them  till  the  6lh,  when  Captain  Paul,  who 
commanded  her,  supplied  them  with  several  necessaries  which  they  had 
omitted  to  bring  with  them,  nor  would  he  accept  of  any  return  ;  where- 
upon they  gave  him  a  letter  to  Alderman  Batchelor  and  the  rest  of  the 
proprietors  at  Bristol. 

About  si.K  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  thfe  10th,  discovered  a  sail,  to 
which  they  immediately  gave  chase,  and  came  up  with  her  about  three  in 
the  afternoon,  when  she  bore  down,  showing  Swedish  colours.  They 
fired  at  her  twice,  after  which  she  brought-to  ;  they  suspected,  from  some 
expressions  uttered  by  two  or  three  of  her  hands,  whom  ihey  found  drunk, 
that  she  had  contraband  goods  on  board  ;  but  finding,  after  a  strict  exa- 
mination of  the  master  and  several  of  his  men,  that  it  would  be  difficult 
to  prove  her  a  prize,  and  being  unwilling  to  lose  time  by  carrying  her  into 
port,  thoy  lot  her  depart  without  farther  detention.  The  master  appeared 
to  be  very  thankful  tluit  he  was  detained  so  short  a  time,  and  at  his  de- 
parture, presented  Captain  Rogers  with  some  dried  beef  and  two  hams  ; 
in  return  for  which  he  received  a  dozen  bottles  of  redstreak  cider.  She 
was  a  ship  belonging  to  Stadt.  of  270  tons  burthen,  and  twenty-two  guns, 
and  had  sailed  round  Scotland  and  Ireland.  On  her  leaving  the  Duke 
and  Duchess,  she  saluted  them  with  four  gUns. 

During  the  time  the  sh'p  was  in  custody,  a  de.^ign  had  been  privately 
fonned  on  board  the  Duke,  by  four  inferior  officers,  to  make  a  prize  of 
her ;  and  when  they  found  she  was  given  up,  they  began  to  mutiny ;  but 
Gyles  Cash,  the  boatswain,  being  displaced  and,  with  ten  others,  put  in 
irons,  and  a  severe  whipping  given  to  some  of  the  principal  leaders  of  the 
disturbance,  all  was  quiet  again,  and  things  began  once  more  to  m.ove  in 
their  proper  channel.  A  like  inclination  had  appeared  among  the  hands 
on  board  the  Duchess,  but  when  those  on  board  the  other  ship  were 


100  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

brought  to  obedience,  it  subsided.  After  this,  however,  they  had  some 
trouble  with  these  mutineers.  On  the  14th  of  September,  some  of  the 
ship's  company,  headed  by  a  bold  daring  fellow,  came  up  to  Captain  Ro- 
gers at  the  steerage-door,  and  demanded  the  discarded  boatswain  out.  of 
irons.  The  captain  gave  them  good  words,  and  having  taken  the  ring- 
leader aside,  as  if  to  speak  privately  with  him  on  the  quarter-deck,  had 
him  suddenly  seized  by  the  help  of  the  ofticers,  and  lashed  by  one  of  his 
own  followers.  The  next  day  he  sent  the  boatswain,  in  irons,  on  board 
the  Crown  tzalloy,  of  Biddeford,  which  had  kept  them  company  since  the 
6ih  instant,  auJ  left  them  on  the  15th.  On  the  I6lh  the  captain  dis- 
charged the  prisoners  out  of  irons,  on  their  acknowledging  their  sorrow 
for  what  was  past,  a>id  promising  better  behaviour  for  the  time  to  come. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  17th,  gained  sight  of  the  peak  of  Teneritf,  and 
the  next  day  took  a  Spanish  bark  of  twenty-five  tons,  bound  from  Orata- 
via  to  Faerteventura,  with  forty-five  passengers,  men  and  women,  on 
board,  among  whom  was  a  priest.  On  the  19th,  bore  away  for  Oratavia 
road,  and  sent  the  aiaster  of  the  Spanish  vessel  on  shore  with  the  priest, 
to  agree  about  her  ransom,  and  to  get  wine,  provisions,  and  other  neces- 
saries for  both  ships.  They  were  accompanied  by  Mr.  Carlton  Van- 
burgh,  who  went  on  this  errand  contrary  to  the  opinion  and  inclination 
of  Captain  Rogers.  Soon  afterward  a  boat  came  from  the  town  with  a 
letter  directed  to  the  Captains  Rogers  and  Courtney,  expostulating  with 
them  for  making  prize  of  the  bark,  and  alleging  that  iVlr.  Vanburgh  should 
be  detained  till  she  was  restored,  to  keep  which  wa.s  not  only  against  a 
private  contract  entered  into  between  Spain  and  England,  relative  to  the 
Canaries,  but  would  be  of  the  utmost  detriment,  as  well  to  the  trading 
subjects  of  both  crowns,  as  to  several  English  merchants  residing  ou 
these  islands  ;  of  whom  a  tenfold  satisl'action  would  be  exacted.  This 
letter  was  signed  by  John  Poulden,  vice-consul,  and  three  merchants, 
Bernard  Walsh,  John  Crosse,  and  George  Fitzgerald. 

The  captains  agreed  on  answermg  this  letter,  to  this  effect ;  that  in 
Keeping  the  bark  they  acted  up  to  their  instructions ;  that  they  knew  no- 
thing of  any  private  articles  in  favour  of  the  ships  of  these  islands  ;  that 
in  case  Mr.  Vanburgh  was  not  restored,  they  would  carry  away  all  the 
prisoners  they  had  ;  and  if  they  apprehended  any  detriment  to  the  fac- 
tory, they  might  ransom  the  bark,  and  seek  their  redress  in  England, 
Tliey  desired  despatch,  there  being  no  time  to  lose  ;  and  said,  that  upon 
sending  back  Mr.  Vanburgh,  they  would  release  their  prisoners.  At 
length,  after  other  letters  had  passed  between  them,  Mr.  Crosse,  one  of 
the  English  merchants  who  had  signed  the  above-mentioned  letters, 
came  off  in  a  boat  on  the  22d,  bringing  v/ith  him  Mr.  Vanburgh,  to- 
gether with  five  butts  of  wine,  some  hogs,  grapes,  and  other  things. 
Upon  which  the  captains  ordered  the  goods  to  be  taken  out  of  the  prize, 
which  they  sold  to  Mr.  Crosse  for  450  dollars,  and  put  the  prisoners  on 
board  ;  but  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Vanburgh,  v/hatever  could  be  recovered 
of  the  effects  belonging  to  any  of  them,  were  returned,  particularly  their 
crosses,  relics  and  books;  and  Captain  Rogers  made  a  present  of  a 
cheese  to  the  priest. 

On  the  25th  of  September  passed  the  tropic,  when  about  sixty  of  the 
crew,  who  had  never  been  this  course  before,  were  ducked  three  times, 
by  hoisting  them  half  way  up  the  main-yard  with  a  rope  to  which  they 
were  made  fast,  and  sousing  them  into  the  water :  this  dipping  v^ras  of 
great  service  to  some  of  them,  as  it  cleansed  them  from  the  dirt  and  filth 
which  they  had  contracted  in  the  voyage.     Those  who  chose  to  pay 


WOODES  ROGERS.  101 

half  a  crown,  to  be  spent  in  merry-making  among  the  ship's  crew  on  their 
return  to  England,  were  excused  from  this  ceremony.  On  the  30th  of 
September  discovered  St.  Lucia,  one  of  the  Cape  de  Verd  islands,  and 
about  eleven  o'clock  anchored  in  the  harbour  of  St.  Vincent,  where,  as 
they  knew  the  island  to  be  uninhabited,  and  saw  several  men  on  shore, 
Captain  Cook  went  in  the  pinnace  to  learn  who  they  were,  and  found 
them  to  be  Portuguese  from  the  Island  of  St.  Antonio,  come  to  catch 
turtle. 

On  the  3d,  it  was  determined  to  send  Joseph  Alexander,  their  linguist, 
with  a  respectful  letter  to  the  governor  of  these  islands,  desiring  leave 
to  trade  for  refreshments,  as  being  subjects  of  Great  Britain  and  allies 
of  the  crown  of  Portugal.  During  their  stay  the  linguist  deserted. 
The  deputy-governor,  who  was  a  negro,  came  on  board  the  Duke,  and 
brought  with  him  tobacco,  brandy,  hogs,  fowls,  oranges,  limes,  musk- 
melons,  and  watermelons  ;  for  which  he  was  paid  in  prize  goods  of  small 
value.  While  they  lay  here  to  clean  their  ships,  and  take  in  wood  and 
water,  a  committee  was  held  on  board  the  Duchess,  in  which  certain 
regulations  were  made  relative  to  prizes  and  plunder,  which  were  agrend 
to  by  all  parties.  Care  was  also  taken  to  prevent  too  common  a  prac- 
tice among  the  sailors,  of  selling  their  clothes  to  the  negroes  and  natives 
of  these  islands  for  brandy  and  other  trifles.  There  are  ten  islands,  only- 
seven  of  which  are  mhabited  :  these  are  St.  Jago,  St.  Nicholas,  Bona- 
vista,  St.  Antonio,  Brava,  Mayo,  and  Fuego,  which  last  is  so  called  from 
its  volcano  ;  St.  Nicholas  and  St.  Jago  are  the  most  populous,  the  lat- 
ter of  which  is  a  bishop's  see,  and  bears  the  same  name  with  the  island. 
Here  is  also  a  considerable  town,  said  to  contain  upward  of  500  houses, 
the  principal  commodities  of  which  are  tobacco,  sugar,  indigo,  and  goat 
skins,  from  which  the  fine  morocco  leather  is  made.  Their  goats,  which 
are  fat  and  well  tasted,  yean  once  in  four  months,  and  have  three  or  four 
kids  at  a  time.  The  soil  in  this  neighbourhood  is  but  indifferent,  but  the 
valleys  produce  corn  and  grapes. 

The  ships  set  sail  on  the  8th  of  October,  in  the  evening,  after  having 
put  th'3  deputy-governor  on  shore.  On  the  22d,  Mr.  Page,  second  mate 
of  the  Duchess,  being  ordered  to  a  birth  on  board  the  Duke,  from  whence 
Mr.  Ballet  was  to  remove  on  board  the  Duchess,  he  (Page)  refused  to 
change  his  ship,  and  Captain  Cook  insisting  that  he  should,  he  struck 
him  ;  but  he  was  at  length  brought  on  board  the  Duke,  and  Captain  Ro- 
gers condemned  him  to  irons.  Before  the  sentence  was  put  h^  execution, 
he  desired  to  go  to  the  head,  when  he  jumped  overboard,  and  endeavour- 
ed to  swim  back  to  the  Duchess,  where,  as  the  captains  were  both  ab- 
sent, he  might  have  excited  the  men  to  mutiny  ;  but»he  boat,  which  was 
alongside,  followed  and  brought  him  back,  when  he  was  heartily  lashed, 
and  then  confined  in  irons  till  the  29th,  when  he  was  set  at  liberty,  on 
promise  of  better  behaviour. 

On  the  14th  they  came  within  sight  of  the  land  of  Brazil,  and  on  the 
18th  came  to  an  anchor  before  the  Island  of  Grande,  in  eleven  fathoms  v^ra- 
ter.  While  they  lay  here,  new  quarrels  arose,  and  things  had  certainly 
come  to  an  extremity  on  board  the  Duchess,  if  Captain  Courtney  had 
not  put  eight  of  the  ringleaders  into  irons,  which  frightened  the  rest,  and, 
in  all  probability,  prevented  an  attempt  to  run  away  with  the  ship.  On 
the  20th,  Mr.  Dampicr  and  a  lieutenant  commanded  two  boats,  which 
were  sent  to  the  watering-place,  to  see  that  it  was  clear  of  enemies; 
when  they  found  a  Portuguese  boat,  the  people  of  which  complained 
that  they  had  lately  been  robbed  by  the  French.     Oa  this  day  four  men, 

9» 


102  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

who  had  been  observed  to  be  very  forward  in  mutinies,  were  put  into 
irons  ;  and  in  the  evening  Captain  Cook  and  Lieutenant  Pope  went  to 
Angre  de  Reys,  a  village  about  three  leagues  distant,  called  by  the 
Portuguese,  Nostra  Senora  de  la  Conceptione,  with  a  present  of  butter 
and  cheese  to  the  governor,  and  a  request  of  his  friendship.  As  thev 
approached  the  shore,  the  inhabitants,  mistaking  them  for  French,  fired 
several  times,  but  did  no  damage,  and  entreated  their  pardon  as  soon  as 
they  discovered  their  mistake. 

The  governor  being  at  the  city  called  Rio  de  Janeiro  about  twelve 
leagues  distant,  they  were  hospitably  entertained  by  a  friar,  who  informed 
them  the  French  had  lately  plundered,  and  used  them  very  ill.  Several 
of  the  inhabitants  came  from  the  town  on  the  22d,  with  canoes  laden 
with  corn,  fowls,  limes,  and  other  provisions,  which  they  exchanged  for 
a  few  trifles :  to  these  people  the  captain  behaved  with  the  utmost  civili- 
ty, and  promised  a  handsome  reward  to  those  who  should  secure  any  of 
the  deserters  from  the  ships. 

A  Portuguese  vessel  coming  to  an  anchor  near  to  the  ships  on  the 
23d,  laden  with  negroes,  who  were  brought  to  work  in  the  gold  mines  up 
the  country.  Captain  Rogers  fitted  out  and  armed  the  pinnace,  to  go  and 
inquire  whence  she  came  ;  to  which  the  captain  replied  in  a  very  satis- 
factory manner,  and  sent  back  some  very  fine  sugar  and  a  pot  of  sweet- 
meats, as  a  present  to  the  FiUglish  captains.  The  Portuguese  are 
extremely  careful  to  conceal  the  roads  leading  to  their  minas  from  all 
other  nations  ;  and  they  affirm  that  the  distance  from  the  seaports  to 
these  sources  of  wealth  is  prodigiously  great. 

It  was  not  long  before  this,  that  some  French  bucaniers,  who  put  in 
here  to  water,  seized  above  1200  weight  of  gold  in  boats,  the  land  road 
being  almost  impassable,  leading  from  Rio  de  Janeiro  to  the  mines. 
Captain  Dover  and  Mr.  Vanburgh,  having  been  out  to  take  their  pleasure 
in  the  pinnace,  on  the  24th  of  this  month,  returned  with  a  creature  that 
smelt  intolerably  ;  the  skin  of  which  was  covered  with  fur,  stuck  full  of 
quill?  or  prickles,  like  a  hedge-hog,  and  its  head  resembled  that  of  a 
monkey.  Several  Portuguese,  and  among  them  some  Franciscan  friars, 
who  came  alongside  the  ship,  affirmed  that  the  nauseous  smell  arose  only 
from  the  skin,  and  that  the  flesh  was  very  fine  eating ;  but  it  was  so 
very  oflensive,  that  none  of  the  sailors  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  try  it. 
On  the  25th  two  men  deserted  from  the  Duchess,  and  made  their  escape 
into  the  woods  ;  but  in  the  night  were  so  terrified  by  the  noise  made  by 
baboons  and  monkeys,  which  they  mistook  for  the  howhng  of  tigers,  that 
they  ran  back  and  plunged  into  the  water,  hailing  the  ship,  and  praying 
to  be  taken  on  board  again.  On  the  sAme  day  two  Irish  land-men  got 
away  from  the  Duke,  but  were  taken  on  shore  two  days  afterward,  while 
they  were  waiting  for  a  Portuguese  canoe  to  carry  them  to  some  other 
place,  and,  being  brought  on  board,  Captain  Rogers  ordered  them  to  be 
severely  whipped,  and  then  put  in  irons. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  day  before  these  fellows  were 
retaken,  the  watch  on  the  quarter-deck  espied  a  canoe,  and  called  her  to 
come  on  board,  but  the  people  not  answering,  and  striving  to  get  away, 
caused  a  suspicion  that  they  had  either  got  deserters,  or  were  going,  by 
agreement,  to  fetch  them  off  the  island.  On  this,  the  pinnace  and  yawl 
were  immediately  despatched  after  them  :  the  pinnace  coming  up  near 
the  canoe,  fired  to  stop  them,  but  to  no  purpose  ;  at  length  one  of  the 
Indians,  who  rowed  the  canoe,  was  wounded  ;  the  person  who  owned 
and  steered  her  was  a  friar,  who  had  a  quantity  of  gold  which  he  had 


WOODES  ROGERS.  103 

got  in  the  mines,  by  confessincr  the  ignorant  people.  This  man  ran  the 
canoe  on  shore  on  a  little  island  full  of  wood,  just  as  his  pursuers  landed, 
and  was  attempting  to  make  his  escape,  but  a  Portuguese,  who  had  no 
gold  to  lose,  called liim  back.  H«  was  taken  with  the  other  prisoners  on 
board  the  ship,  and  civilly  entertained  by  Captain  Rogers  ;  the  poor  In- 
dian died  in  about  two  hours  afterward,  and  the  friar  was  inconsolable, 
threatening  to  seek  redress  either  in  England  or  Portugal  for  the  death 
of  his  slave,  and  the  loss  of  his  gold,  which  possibly  he  had  dropped  in 
the  bustle,  or  buried  at  the  place  where  the  canoe  ran  on  shore. 

Captains  Rogers  and  Courtney,  and  some  of  the  other  officers,  on  the 
27th  October,  went  in  a  boat  to  the  town  of  Angre  de  Keys,  to  see  a 
procession  in  honour  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  The  Portuguese  governor, 
who  treated  them  with  the  utmost  politeness,  requested  that  their  music, 
which  consisted  of  a  hautboy  and  two  trumpets,  might  be  permitted  to 
a'ssist  at  divine  service  instead  of  an  organ  ;  which  request  was  readily 
complied  with.  When  the  service  of  the  church  was  ended,  the  musi- 
cians, who  were  by  this  time  half  drunk,  marched  at  the  head  of  the 
procession,  in  which  was  carried  lamps  of  incense,  a  host,  and  an  image 
of  the  Virgin  Mary  adorned  with  flowers,  surrounded  with  wax  candles, 
borne  on  a  bier  by  four  men,  and  followed  by  the  guardian  of  the  convent, 
about  forty  priests  and  friars,  the  governor  of  the  town.  Captain  Rogers, 
Captain  Courtney,  and  the  other  officers  of  their  company,  every  one  of 
whom  carried  a  wax  taper  through  complaisance.  Some  junior  priests 
and  the  principal  inhabitants  of  the  place,  every  one  with  his  consecrated 
candle,  closed  the  procession.  The  ceremony  ended,  a  genteel  entertain- 
ment was  provided  for  the  English  gentlemen  at  the  convent ;  and  the 
governor,  whose  house  was  at  three  miles  distance,  accommodated  the 
rest  of  the  company  at  the  guard-house,  where  twenty  soldiers  were  sta- 
tioned, under  the  command  of  a  lieutenant  and  an  ensign. 

The  town  of  Angre  de  Reys  consists  of  about  sixty  low  houses,  poor- 
ly built,  ill-furnished,  and  covered  with  palmetto  leaves  ;  it  has  two 
churches,  and  a  monastery  of  Franciscan  friars,  plainly  furnished,  but  neat 
and  decent.  The  friars  possessed  some  black  cattle,  but  did  not  choose 
to  sell  any.  Perhaps  the  mean  appearance  of  the  place  might  have  been 
owing  to  their  having  secreted  their  best  effects,  as  they  had  so  lately  been 
plundered  by  the  French. 

The  officers  returning  on  board,  sent  the  boat  back  to  the  town  for 
liquor,  together  with  an  invitation  to  the  principal  gentlemen  of  the  place 
to  return  the  visit  on  board,  with  which  they  complied,  and  were  extremely 
merry.  When  the  Hquor  began  to  operate,  they  toasted  the  pope's  health, 
and  Captain  Rogers  in  return  gave  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and 
William  Penn,  the  famous  quaker,  which  they  readily  pledged. 

The  Island  of  Grande  is  remarkably  high  land,  and  about  nine  leagues 
long.  It  abounds  with  movikeys  and  other  wild  beasts ;  has  plenty  of 
timber  and  excellent  water  ;  and  oranges,  lemons,  and  guaives  grow  wild 
in  the  woods.  The  rivers  and  bays  abound  with  fish,  among  which  the 
shark  is  reckoned  the  most  remarkable  ;  it  has  three  rows  of  teeth,  a  very 
rough  skin,  and  the  old  ones  especially  taste  very  strong :  they  are  ten 
feet  long,  and  usually  attended  by  a  fish  called  the  pilot-fish,'  which  finds 
out  prey  for  them,  and  whom,  it  is  said,  they  never  devour.  The  shark 
is  a  very  heavy  fish,  and  his  mouth  lying  under  the  head,  he  is  obliged  to 
turn  on  his  back  to  catch  his  prey  ;  and  in  this  manner  he  often  catches 
hold  of  the  Umb  of  a  man  who  is  swimming,  which  he  takes  off  at  a  bite  ; 
he  is,  however,  soon  sickened  by  playing  with  a  line,  though  extremely 


104  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

Strong  under  water.  The  pilot-fish  is  exceedingly  like  a  mackerel  when 
swimming  in  the  water,  and  looks  as  if  it  were  painted  blue  and  white 
in  a  circular  form,  something  like  a  barber's  pole  ;  but  there  is  another 
kind  of  pilot-fish,  of  a  deep  blue  when  out  of  the  water,  the  back  speckled 
like  a  seal's  skin,  the  belly  of  a  higher  colour  than  the  back  and  sides, 
and  the  scales  smooth  like  those  of  a  tench.  One  of  these,  which  wa« 
eight  inches  long  and  three  broad,  was  struck  by  Captain  Cook  with  a 
harpooning-iron. 

They  sailed  out  of  the  Bay  of  Grande  on  the  1st  of  December,  steer- 
ing for  Juan  Fernandez ;  on  the  5th  of  January,  encountered  a  violent 
storm,  which  drove  such  a  quantity  of  water  into  the  Duchess,  that  they 
expected  she  would  sink  every  moment.  As  the  men  were  going  to  sup- 
per about  nine  o'clock  at  night,  she  shipped  a  sea  at  the  poop,  which  beat 
in  the  bulk-head  and  all  the  cabin-windows,  and  drove  the  first  heutenant 
half  way  between  the  decks,  together  with  several  pistols  and  muskets, 
that  were  hanging  there,  darting  a  sword  that  was  against  the  bulk-head 
of  the  cabin,  through  a  hammock  and  rug  that  hung  againtt  the  bulk-head 
of  the  steerage.  Had  the  bulk-head  of  the  great  cabin  not  given  v/ay, 
those  who  were  in  the  other  cabin  must  certainly  have  been  drowned 
before  the  water  could  have  run  off.  It  is  astonishing  that  many  of  the 
men  were  not  killed  with  the  shutters,  the  bulk-head,  and  the  arms, 
•which  were  driven  with  amazing  violence.  Howevor,  the  yawl  was 
ataved  on  the  deck,  and  one  or  two  of  the  men  were  -wounded,  and  all 
the  clothes  in  the  ship  were  excessive  wet — chests,  hwnmocks  and  bed- 
ding being  soaked  to  such  a  degree,  that  they  had  not  a  rag  of  anything 
dry  to  cover  them. 

On  the  17th,  took  an  observation,  by  which  they  found  they  had  got 
round  Cape  Horn,  Terra  del  Fuego,  and  the  straits  cf  Magellan,  being 
then  to  the  northward  of  Cape  Vittoria.  About  thi*  time,  the  scurvy 
began  to  make  a  great  havoc  among  the  crews,  but  on  the  26th  saw  land, 
which  they  took  to  be  part  of  the  coast  of  Chili. 

They  now  bore  away  for  the  Island  of  Juan  Fernandez,  which  appear- 
ed iu  sight  on  the  last  day  of  January,  and  next  day  Captain  Dover, 
second  captain  of  the  Duke,  manned  the  pinnace,  and  went  off  in  search 
of  provisions,  as  well  as  to  find  a  convenient  place  for  the  ship  to  anchor. 
Perceiving,  as  soon  as  it  grew  dark,  a  fire  kindled  on  the  island,  it  was 
imagined  that  there  were  ships  in  the  road  ;  this  light  was  also  seen  by 
those  on  board  the  ships,  who  thought  it  proceeded  from  French  vessels 
at  anchor,  and  imagined  they  should  be  under  a  necessity  of  fighting  them, 
or  remain  in  want  of  water,  and  the  ships  were  ordered  to  prepare  for  aa 
engagement.  Captain  Dover  returned  on  board  with  the  pinnace  about 
two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  having  been  afraid  to  land,  on  seeing  the  fire 
on  shore.  Next  day,  while  still  under  apprehensions  of  an  enemy,  they 
stood  in  for  the  shore,  from  which  blew  such  sudden  and  frequent  gusts 
of  wind,  that  they  were  forced  to  reef  their  top-sail,  and  stand  by  the 
masts,  lest  they  should  go  by  the  board  ;  they  now  expected  to  find  the 
enemy  ;  but  seeing  all  clear,  and  no  ships  either  in  that  bay  or  in  another 
to  the  northward,  conjectured  that  some  ships  had  been  there,  but  had 
departed  on  seeing  them. 

About  noon,  sent  the  yawl  ashore,  with  Captain  Dover,  Mr.  Fry,  and 
six  men,  well  armed  ;  but  as  they  did  not  speedily  return.  Captain  Rogers 
sent  his  pinnace,  well  manned,  to  inquire  into  the  occasion  of  their  stay  ; 
for  he  began  to  fear  that  the  Spaniards  might  have  a  garrison  there,  and 
had  made  them  prisoners.     They  therefore  put  out  a  signal  for  the  yawl, 


WOODES  ROGERS.  105 

Bnd  the  Duchess  showed  a  French  ensign.  The  boats  returned  toward 
evening,  and  brought  with  them  abundance  of  cray-fish,  and  a  man  clothed 
in  goats'  skins,  who  appeared  wilder  than  the  goats  themselves.  This 
man  had  been  on  the  island  four  years  and  four  months,  having  been  left 
there  by  Captain  Straddling,  commander  of  a  vessel  called  the  Cinque 
Ports,  of  which  this  person,  whose  name  was  Alexander  Selkirk,  had 
been  master.  Captain  Dampier,  who  had  been  at  that  time  on  board 
Captain  StraddUng's  ship,  informed  Captain  Rogers  that  Selkirk  was  the 
best  sailor  on  board  her ;  whereon  he  was  immediately  made  mate  of 
the  Duke.  It  was  he  who  had  made  the  fire  the  last  night,  when  he  saw 
the  ship,  which  he  imagined  to  be  EiJglish.  During  his  abode  on  the 
island,  he  had  seen  several  ships  pass  by,  but  only  two  came  to  an  an- 
chor ;  on  which,  he  went  to  reconnoitre,  and  finding  them  to  be  Spa- 
niards, retired,  and  escaped,  notwithstanding  they  shot  at  him.  Had  they 
been  French,  he  would  have  submitted,  but  he  chose  rather  to  run  the 
risk  of  dying  alone  on  the  island,  than  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Spa- 
niards ;  apprehending  that  they  would  either  make  him  a  slave  in  the 
mines  ot  murder  him  ;  as  he  could  by  no  means  suppose  they  would  spare 
any  stranger,  who  was  so  well  acquainted  with  the  South  Seas.  These 
Spaniards  had  landed  before  he  knew  what  they  were  ;  and  they  came 
so  near  that  it  was  with  great  difficulty  be  escaped,  for  after  they  had  ftred, 
they  pursued  him  to  the  woods,  where  he  climbed  to  the  top  of  a  tree,  at 
the  foot  of  which  some,  who  were  searching  for  him,  killed  several  goats 
within  his  sight ;  but  at  length  departed  without  discovering  him. 

Mr.  Selkirk  .said  he  was  a  native  of  Largo,  in  the  county  of  Fife,  in 
Scotland,  and  bred  a  sailor  from  his  youth.  That  the  reason  of  his  being 
left  on  the  island,  was  a  difference  between  him  and  hts  captain,  which, 
together  with  the  ship's  being  leaky,  made  him  at  first  willing  to  stay 
there,  rather  than  go  with  him  ;  and  that  afterward,  when  he  altered  his 
mind,  and  would  gladly  have  gone  on  board,  the  captain  v/ould  not  re- 
ceive him.  He  had  been  at  this  island  before  to  wood  and  water,  at 
wh.ch  time  their  vessel  was  chased  thence  by  two  French  ships,  leaving 
two  of  the  crew  on  the  island  ;  but  after  th^.y  had  been  there  six  months, 
the  ship  returned  and  took  them  off.  He  had  his  clothes  and  bedding 
with  him,  also  a  firelock,  a  little  powder,  some  bullets,  and  tobacco  ;  a 
hatchet,  a  kettle,  a  knife,  a  bible,  some  books  of  practical  divinity,  and 
his  mathematical  instruments  and  books.  He  diverted  and  provided  for 
himself  as  well  as  he  could,  but  for  the  first  eight  months  he  was  ex- 
tremely melancholy,  and  could  hardly  support  the  terror  of  being  alone 
in  such  a  desolate  place.  He  built  two  huts  with  pimento  trees,  covered 
them  witji  long  grass,  and  lined  them  with  the  skins  of  goats,  which  he 
killed  with  his  gun  as  he  wanted,  so  long  as  his  powder,  which  was  but 
a  pound,  lasted.  He  procured  fire  by  rubbing  two  sticks  of  pimento 
wood  upon  his  knee. 

In  the  smaller  hut,  which  was  at  some  distance  from  the  other,  he 
dressed  his  victuals  ;  and  in  the  larger  he  slept,  and  employed  himself  in 
reading,  singing  psalms,  and  praying  ;  so  that  he  said  he  was  a  better 
Christian  while  in  this  solitude,  than  he  was  before  or  than,  he  feared, 
he  ever  should  be  again.  When  first  left  alone,  he  eat  nothing  till  con- 
strained to  it  by  mere  hunger,  which  arose  partly  from  the  want  of  bread 
and  salt,  and  partly  from  the  excess  of  his  grief;  nor  did  he  go  to  bed 
till  he  was  able  to  keep  awake  no  longer. 

The  pimento  wood,  which  burnt  very  clear,  served  him  both  for  fire  and 
candle,  and  refreshed  him  with  its  fragrant  smell.     He  could  have  pro- 


106  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  W6RLD. 

cured  fish  enough,  but  would  not  eat  them  for  want  of  salt,  because  they 
occasioned  a  looseness,  except  a  sort  of  cray-fish,  which  were  extremely 
good,  and  as  large  as  our  lobsters.  These  he  sometimes  broiled,  and  at 
other  times  bailed,  as  he  also  did  the  goat's  flesh,  and  made  very  good 
broth,  for  the  taste  of  it  is  much  more  pleasant  than  that  of  the  goats  of 
England  and  Wales.  He  kept  an  account  of  five  hundred  of  these  ani- 
mals which  he  had  killed,  and  as  many  more  which  he  caught,  and  ha- 
ving marked  them  on  the  ear,  let  them  go  again.  When  his  powder  was 
gone,  he  took  them  by  out-rufining  them  ;  for  his  way  of  living  and  his 
continual  exercise  of  walking  and  running,  had  so  cleared  his  body  of  all 
gross  humours,  that  he  ran  with  wonderful  swiftness  through  the  woods 
and  up  the  rocks  and  hills,  as  the  people  belonging  to  the  ships  perceived 
when  they  employed  him  to  catch  goats  for  them  ;  they  had  a  bull-dog 
which  they  sent,  with  several  of  their  nimblest  runners,  to  assist  him  in 
catching  goats  ;  but  he  distanced  and  tired  both  men  and  dog,  catching 
the  goats  and  bringing  them  oh  his  back.  He  told  them  that  his  agility 
in  pursuing  a  goat  had  once  like  to  have  cost  him  his  life  ;  he  pursued 
it  with  so  much  eagerness,  that  he  caught  hold  of  it  on  the  brink  of  a 
precipice,  of  which  he  was  not  aware,  as  the  bushes  concealed  it  from 
his  sight ;  so  that  he"  fell  vvrth  the  goat  down  the  precipice,  a  prodigious 
height,  and  was  so  stunned  and  braised  with  the  fall,  that  he  lay  there 
insensible,  as  he  imagined,  about  twenty-four  hours,  and  when  he  came 
to  his  senses  he  found  the  goat  dead  under  him.  He  was  so  hurt  that 
he  was  hardly  able  to  crawl  to  his  hut,  which  was  about  a  mile  distant, 
nor  was  he  able  to  go  abroad  again  in  less  thnn  ten  days.  He  came  at 
length  to  rehsh  his  meat  well  enough  without  salt  or  bread,  and  found 
plenty  of  good  turnips,  which  had  been  sowed  there  by  Captain  Dam- 
pier's  men,  and  had  now  overspread  some  acres  of  ground.  He  had 
plenty  of  good  cabbage  from  the  trees,  and  seasoned  his  meat  with  the 
fruit  of  pimento  trees,  commonly  called  Jamaica  pepper.  He  found  also 
a  black  pepper  called  malageta,  which  was  very  good  to  expel  wind  and 
prevent  a  griping  in  the  bowels.  He  soon  wore  out  his  shoes  as  well  as 
his  clothes  by  running  in  the  woods,  and  at  length  his  feet  became  so 
hard,  that  he  ran  everywhere  without^  difficulty ;  and  it  was  some  time 
after  he  was  found  before  he  could  wear  shoes  again,  for  not  being  used 
to  any  so  long,  his  feet  swelled  when  he  came  first  to  put  then!  on. 

After  he  had  conquered  his  melancholy,  he  diverted  himself  some- 
times with  cutting  his  name  on  the  trees,  together  with  the  time  of  his 
being  left,  and  continuance  there.  He  was  at  first  much  pestered  with 
rats,  which  had  bred  in  great  numbers  frmn  some  which  had  got  on  shore 
from  ships,  which  put  in  there  for  wood  and  water.  The  rats  gnawed 
his  feet  and  clothes  while  he  slept,  so  that  he  was  obliged  to  cherish 
some  cats,  which  had"  also  bred  from  some  that  had  got  ashore  from  dif- 
ferent ships  ;  these  he  fed  with  goat's  flesh,  by  which  many  of  them 
became  so  tame,  that  they  would  lie  about  him  in  hundreds,  and  soon 
delivered  him  from  the  rats.  He  likewise  tamed  some  kids  ;  and  to  divert 
himself,  would  frequently  sing  and  dance  with  them  and  his  cats  ;  so 
that  by  the  favour  of  Providence,  and  the  vigour  of  youth,  he  being  now 
only  thirty  years  of  age,  he  at  length  was  enabled  to  conquer  all  the  in- 
conveniences of  his  solitude,  and  became  extremely  easy.  VvHien  his 
clothes  were  worn  out  he  made  a  coat  and  a  cap  of  goat's  skin,  sewed 
together  with  little  thongs  of  the  same,  which  he  cut  vi^ith  his  knife.  He 
had  no  other  needle  but  a  nail,  and  when  his  knife  was  worn  out  he  made 
others  as  well  as  he  could  of  some  iron  hoops  that  were  left  ashore, 


I 


^OGDES  ROGERS.  lO? 

tvtiich  he  beat  straight  and  thin,  and  ground  upon  stones.  Having  some 
linen  cloth,  he  cut  out  some  shirts,  which  he  sewed  with  the  worsted  of 
his  old  stockings,  pulled  out  on  purpose,  using  an  old  nail  to  make  holes, 
instead  of  a  needle,  and  he  had  his  last  shirt  on  wheii  he  was  found.  At 
first  going  on  board,  he  seemed  much  rejoiced,  but  had  so  far  forgot  his 
native  language  for  want  of  use,  that  he  could  not  speak  plainly,  only 
dropping  a  few  words  of  English  now  and  then,  and  without  connexion  ; 
but  m  two  or  three  days  he  began  to  talk,  and  then  told  them  that  his 
silence  was  involimtary  ;  for  that  having  been  so  long  on  the  island  with- 
out any  person  with  whom  to  converse,  he  had  forgotten  the  use  of  his 
tongue.  A  dram  was  offered  him,  but  he  would  not  taste  it,  having  drank 
nothing  but  water  for  so  long  a  time,  and  it  was  a  good  while  before  he 
could  relish  the  victuals  on  board.  He  gave  no  account  of  any  produce 
of  the  island,  which  had  not  been  discovered  before,  except  some  black 
plums,  which  were  very  gdod,  but  difficult  to  come  at ;  the  trees  on 
which  they  grow  being  on  high  mountains  and  rocks.  Pimento  trees 
were  plenty  here,  some  of  which  were  sixty  feet  high,  and  two  yards  in 
circumference  ;  the  cotton  trees  were  still  higher,  and  near  four  fathoms 
round  at  the  bottom.  The  climate  of  this  island  is  so  good,  that  the 
trees  and  grass  continue  green  all  the  year  round.  The  winter  lasts  no 
longer  than  June  or  July,  and  it  is  not  then  severe,  there  being  only  a 
small  frost  and  a  little  hail,  but  sometimes  great  rains.  The  heat  of  the 
summer  is  equally  moderate,  and  there  is  not  much  thunder  or  tpmpestu- 
ous  weather  of  any  sort. 

Selkirk  saw  no  venomous  creature  on  the  island,  nor  any  sort  of  beast 
but  goats,  which  had  originally  been  put  on  shore  here,  on  purpose  for  a 
breed,  by  Juan  Fernando,  who  settled  here  with  some  families,  till  the 
continent  of  Chili  began  to  submit  to  the  Spaniards,  which  being  a  more 
profitable  soil,  the  planters  were  tempted  to  remove  thither.  They  got 
the  smith's  forge  on  shore  on  the  3d  of  February,  set  the  coopers  to 
work,  and  made  a  little  tent  for  Captain  Rogers  to  have  the  benefit  of 
the  air.  The  people  of  the  Duchess  also  erected  a  tent  for  their  sick 
men  :  those  in  health  were  employed  in  providing  fish  both  for  themselves 
and  the  sick,  and  were  sometimes  able,  so  great  was  the  abundance,  to 
catch  as  many  in  a  few  hours  as  would  serve  two  hundred  people.  The 
bay  abounded  with  sea- fowls,  which  are  as  large  as  geese,  but  they  had 
a  fishy  taste. 

Mr.  Selkirk,  to  whom  they  gave  the  name  of  governor,  never  failed 
to  procure  two  or  three  goats  a  day,  for  the  use  of  the  sick  men,  by  which, 
together  with  the  wholesome  air  and  the  help  of  the  greens,  they  soon 
got  rid  of  the  scurv}'.  They  spent  the  time  till  the  10th  in  taking  in 
wood  and  water,  and  refitting  their  ships.  They  likewise  boiled  up 
about  eight  gallons  of  sea-lions'  oil,  as  they  might  have  done  several  tons 
had  they  been  provided  with  vessels.  This  they  refined  for  their  lamps, 
to  save  candles  ;  and  it  was  sometimes  used  by  the  sailors  instead  of 
butter,  to  fry  their  meat,  and  they  found  it  far  from  disagreeable. 

The  healthy  men  eat  the  flesh  of  the  young  seals,  which  they  preferred 
to  the  ship's  provisions,  and  said  it  was  as  good  as  English  lamb  ;  though 
Captain  Rogers  observes,  he  should  have  been  very  glad  of  the  exchange. 

On  the  13th  of  February,  a  consultation  was  held  on  board  the 
Duchess,  in  which  they  made  several  regulations  for  preserving  strict 
honesty,  disciphne,  and  secrecy,  on  board  both  vessels,  and  agreed  to 
sail  to  the  islands  of  Lobos  de  la  Mar ;  and  the  ship  which  arrived  there 
first  was  to  lea^ve  directions  for  the  other  how  to  proceed,  buried  in  a 


108  VOYAGfiS  ROT/ND  THE  WORLD. 

glass  bottle  at  the  distance  of  twenty  yards  from  the  shore,  at  certain 
places  which  they  named.  On  the  14th  weighed  anchor,  with  a  fair  gale 
at  south-east,  having  buried  only  two  men  at  the  Island  of  Juan  Fernan- 
dez. On  the  24th  of  the  month,  crossed  the  tropic  of  Capricorn,  when 
they  saw  several  tropical  birds,  among  which  were  the  boobies,  which  are 
about  the  size  of  a  magpie  ;  the  eyes  large,  the  back  red,  and  the  tail 
consisting  only  of  one  feather,  about  eighteen  inches  in  length  ;  the  fea- 
thers are  black  and  white  on  the  top  of  the  back  and  wings,  and  white 
underneath  ;  they  are  supposed  to  live  on  fish  ;  they  fly  high,  and  are 
scarcely  ever  seen  but  near  the  tropics. 

On  the  3d  of  March,  when  the  weather  was  extremely  hot,  saw  several 
pieces  of  wood  and  some  trees  floating  on  the  water,  together  with  abun- 
dance of  weeds,  about  which  was  seen  a  considerable  number  of  sea- 
larks,  some  of  which  Captain  Cook  shot,  as  he  did  a  booby,  almost  white, 
and  a  seal,  which  immediately  sunk  ;  a  large  sun-fish  coming  near  tho 
boat,  they  struck  it  with  the  fisgig,  but  it  got  off.  They  also  saw  several 
flying  fish,  which  are  long  and  slender,  having  a  very  large  eye,  and  a 
body  which  in  shape  and  colour  resembles  that  of  a  mullet.  They  some- 
times fly  near  the  length  of  a  musket-shot  before  they  touch  the  water, 
and  then,  wetting  their  wings,  rise  up  again ;  their  enemies,  the  dolphins, 
chasing  them  and  swimming  after  them  with  such  swiftness,  that  they 
frequently  catch  them  on  their  falling  into  the  water  ;  and  sometimes  the 
flying  fish  drop  into  ships. 

On  the  4th  of  March  every  man  waa  put  to  an  allowance  of  three 
pints  of  water  per  day,  that  the  stock  might  hold  out,  they  being  deter- 
mined to  keep  at  sea,  in  the  hope  of  taking  some  prize  from  Lima  or 
elsewhere.  According  to  their  hopes,  on  the  evening  of  the  15th,  they 
saw  a  sail,  and  the  Duchess  being  nearest  soon  took  her.  She  was  a 
little  vessel,  of  sixteen  tons,  from  Payta,  bound  to  Cheripe,  to  take  in 
flour,  with  a  small  sum  of  money  on  board  to  purchase  it.  The  master's 
name  was  Antonio  Heliagos,  a  mestizo,  that  is,  one  begotten  between  an 
Indian  and  a  Spaniard  :  the  crew,  which  consisted  of  eight  men,  were  a 
Spaniard,  a  negro,  and  six  Indians.  They  said  that  all  the  French  ships, 
being  seven  in  number,  were  sailed  out  of  those  seas  six  months  before, 
and  that  no  more  were  to  come  there  ;  adding,  that  the  Spaniards  had 
such  an  antipathy  to  the  French,  that  at  Calao,  the  seaport  of  Lima,  they 
quarrelled  so  frequently,  and  killed  so  many,  that  none  were  suflfered  to 
go  on  shore  for  some  time  before  they  sailed  thence.  The  prisoners 
likewise  said,  that  there  had  been  no  enemies  in  those  parts  since  Cap- 
tain Dampier  had  been  there  four  years  before  ;  and  that  Captain  Strad- 
dling's  ship,  the  Cinque  Ports,  who  was  Dampier's  consort,  foundered  on 
the  coast  of  Barbacom,  where  he  and  about  six  or  seven  of  his  men  were 
saved,  but  being  taken  in  their  boat,  had  been  kept  prisoners  at  Lima 
ever  since,  where  they  had  fared  much  worse  than  poor  Selkirk,  whom 
they  had  left  on  shore  at  Juan  Fernandez.  When  they  had  manned  the 
prize  with  English  sailors,  they  hauled  off  close  on  a  wind  for  Lobos, 
having  shot  within  it ;  and  had  not  the  crew  of  the  prize  informed  them 
better,  they  might  have  endangered  their  ships  by  running  in  farther,  as 
there  are  shoals  between  the  island  and  the  main. 

On  the  17th,  anchored  between  the  two  islands  of  Lobos  de  la  Mar, 
together  with  the  prize,  which  on  the  day  following  they  prepared  to  fit 
out  as  a  cruiser,  under  the  command  of  Mr.  Strutton,  giving  her  the  name 
of  the  Beginning.  On  the  20th,  being  manned  with  thirty-two  men,  and 
stocked  wiih  provisions,  she  put  to  sea  with  the  Duchess ;  and  on  the 


WOODES  ROGERS.  109 

26th  brought  in  a  prize  which  they  had  taken  in  company  ;  her  harden 
was  fifty  tons,  and  she  was  laden  with  timber,  cocoa  nuts,  and  tobacco, 
which  last  article  was  distributed  among  the  crews  of  the  Duke  and 
Duchess.  Having  cleaned  and  refitted  the  last  prize,  they  made  Mr. 
Selkirk  master,  and  removed  the  sick  of  both  ships  on  board  her,  under 
the  care  of  a  surgeon.  The  largest  two  of  these  islands,  called  Lobos  de 
la  Mar,  (to  distinguish  them  from  those  called  Lobos  de  la  Terra,)  are 
about  sixteen  leagues  from  the  continent,  and  six  miles  in  length.  The 
soil  is  a  white  clay,  mixed  with  sand  and  rocks.  They  atford  no  fresh 
water  nor  anything  green,  and  have  no  kind  of  wood.  There  are  a  vast 
plenty  of  a  kind  of  vultures,  or  carrion  crows,  which  at  a  distance  looked 
so  like  turkeys,  that  one  of  the  ship's  officers  blessed  himself  with  the 
sight  of  them,  thinking  he  should  fare  deliciously  ;  nay,  so  very  eager 
was  he  to  taste  them,  that  he  had  not  patience  till  the  boat  could  put 
him  ashore,  but  jumped  into  the  water  with  his  gun  in  his  hand,  and  get- 
ting near  enough,  let  fly  at  two  of  them  ;  but,  when  he  came  to  take  up 
his  game,  it  stunk  so  intolerably,  that  he  was  laughed  at  for  his  fruitless- 
impatience  by  his  brother  officers. 

On  the  island  are  abundance  of  seals,  and  some  sea-lions ;  the  seals 
are  much  larger  than  those  at  Juan  Fernandez,  but  the  fur  not  so  tine. 
They  killed  many  to  eat  their  livers,  but  one  of  the  crew,  a  Spaniard, 
dying  suddenly  after  eating  of  them,  the  use  of  this  sort  of  food  was 
forbidden.  The  prisoners  said  that  old  seals  were  very  unwholesome. 
The  wind  always  blowuig  fresh  over  land,  brought  an  ugly  noisome  smell 
from  the  seals  on  shore,  which  gave  Captain  Roger's  a  violent  head-ache, 
and  this  smell  was  complained  of  by  everybody  else  on  board  ;  but  no 
complaint  of  this  kind  had  been  made  from  the  smell  of  those  animals  at 
Juan  Fernandez. 

The  prisoners  told  them,  it  was  expected  that  the  widow  of  the  late 
viceroy  of  Peru,  with  her  family  and  riches,  would  shortly  embark  for 
Acapulco,  and  stop  at  Payta  to  refresh,  ors  ail  in  sight,  as  customary  in 
one  of  the  king's  ships  of  thirty  guns  ;  and  that  about  eight  months 
before,  a  ship  with  200,000  pieces  of  eight  on  board,  besides  a  cargo  of 
liquors  and  flour,  had  passed  by  Payta  for  Acapulco.  They  also  said, 
they  had  left  Siguier  Morel  in  a  stout  ship,  with  dry  goods  for  Lima,  re- 
cruiting at  Payta,  where  he  expected  in  a  few  days  a  French  built  ship, 
belonging  to  the  Spaniards,  to  come  from  Panama,  richly  laden,  with  a 
bishop  on  board.  Upon  this  advice  they  agreed  to  spend  as  much  time 
as  possible  cruising  off  Payta,  whhout  discovering  themselves,  for  fear  of 
hindering  their  other  designs. 

On  the  1st  of  April  found  the  sea  of  the  colour  ol  blood,  which,  on 
inspection,  appeared  to  be  caused  by  the  spawn  of  fish  swimming  on  the 
surface  of  the  water.  On  the  2d,  Mr.  Fry  was  sent  in  the  pinnace  after 
a  vessel  they  discovered  ;  he  soon  took  and  brought  her  in,  when  she 
appeared  to  be  the  ship  already  mentioned,  commanded  by  Signior  Morel 
and  his  brother ;  her  burthen  was  500  tons,  and,  besides  her  cargo,  she 
had  on  board  fifty  negroes,  and  many  passengers  bound  from  Panama  lo 
LiiTia,  with  a  fine  stock  of  fresh  provisions  ;  the  command  of  this  vessel 
was  given  to  Lieutenant  Fry  ;  and  the  following  day  the  Beginning  took 
a  prize  of  thirty-five  tons  burthen,  bound  from  Guaquil  to  Chancay  ;  by 
which  vessel  they  learned  tiiat  the  bishop  already  mentioned  was  still  at 
Payta,  but  would  soon  pass  the  road  in  which  they  now  were,  on  his  way 
to  Lima.  On  hearing  this,  the  cruisers  were  stationed  in  such  amannei; 
as  seeraed  to  bid  fair  for  shortening  his  lordship's  voyage, 

10 


lid  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLI). 

On  the  7th,  Mr.  Vanhurgh  still  continuing  to  behave  in  a  very  riotous 
end  improper  manner,  was,  in  a  full  council  of  the  officers  of  both  ships, 
turned  out  of  his  post  as  a  person  unfit  to  be  trusted.  It  was  resolved 
in  a  committee,  on  the  12th  of  April,  not  to  send  the  Beginning  prize 
into  Payta,  as  had  been  agreed  on,  for  fear  of  being  discovered  ;  but  to 
attempt  the  town  of  Guaquil ;  the  enterprise  to  be  conducted  by  the 
three  captains,  P4,ogers,  Courtney,  and  Dover  ;  Rogers  to  command  a 
company  of  seventy-one  officers  and  sailors  ;  Courtney  to  be  at  the  head 
of  severity-three  men  ;  and  Dover  to  have  seventy  men  under  his  com- 
mand. Captain  Dampier  to  command  the  artillery,  with  a  reserve  of 
twenty-two  men  to  act  upon  occasion  ;  Captain  Cook  to  command  the 
Duchess  with  forty-two  men  ;  and  Captain  Fry  the  Duke,  with  forty  men. 

They  hauled  in  for  Cape  Blanco  on  the  13th,  when  a  cCmmittee  was 
held,  in  which  it  was  agreed,  that  for  the  encouragement  of  officers  and 
men,  all  bedding  and  clothes,  gold  rings,  buckles  and  buttons,  liquors  and 
provisions,  with  all  sorts  of  arms,  except  great  guns  for  ships,  should  be 
allowed  as  plunder,  to  be  equally  divided  between  all  the  men  on  board 
or  on  shore,  according  to  their  whole  shares.  That  all  wrought  gold  or 
silver  crucifixes,  watches  found  about  the  prisoners,  or  wearing  apparel  of 
any  kind,  shodld  also  be  plunder,  except  money,  women's  ear-rings,  loose 
diamonds,  pearls,  and  precious  stones  ;  and,  in  case  a)iything  was  not 
sufficiently  explained,  a  committee  should,  upon  application  being  made 
for  that  purpose,  meet  after  the  expedition,  and  determine  what  farthef 
ought  to  be  reputed  plunder,  withdut  fraud  to  the  owners,  or  prejudice 
to  the  officers  and  men.  That  no  person  should  misinterpret  this  allow- 
ance, so  as  to  conceal  wrought  or  unwrought  gold  or  silver,  pearls, 
jewels,  diamonds,  or  precious  stones,  not  found  about  prisoners,  or  their 
wearing  apparel,  which  should  be  looked  upon  as  a  high  misdemeanour 
and  severely  punished  :  that  none  should  keep  any  plunder,  but  deliver  it 
to  his  officer  publicly,  and  carry  it  to  the  place  appointed  for  the  deposit. 
That  in  case  any  town,  fort,  or  ship,  were  taken  by  storm,  the  encou- 
ragement agreed  on  at  the  Island  of  St.  Vincent  should  be  allowed  to 
each  man,  over  and  above  the  gratuity  promised  by  the  owners  to  those 
who  signalized  themselves.  But  if  any  party  should  be  engaged  with 
another  of  the  enemy,  and  defeat  them,  then  all  the  prisoners,  and  the 
arms  and  moveables  about  them,  should  be  divided  amdng  them  only  who 
were  in  the  action  ;  all  the  plunder  taken  on  shore  to  be  carried  on  board 
by  persons  appointed  for  that  purpose,  and  entered  in  public  books,  for 
the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned.  That  those  who  should  commit  any 
disorder  on  shore,  disobey  command,  quit  their  post,  discourage  the  men, 
behave  themselves  cowardly  in  any  action,  burn  or  destroy  anything 
without  orders,  or  debauch  the  prisoners,  should  Idse  all  their  shares  of 
the  plunder,  and  be  severely  punished  otherwise. 

On  the  morning  of  the  15th,  the  French  built  prize,  which  they  had  so 
long  expected,  appeared  within  sight  near  the  shore  ;  and,  as  they  had 
but  little  wind,  the  float  and  pinnace  rowed  after  and  attacked  her,  but 
she  repulsed  them,  with  the  loss  of  two  men,  one  of  whom  was  Captain 
Roger's  brother,  shot  through  the  head,  and  three  wdunded  ;  the  ships 
coming  up,  she  struck  to  the  Duchess,  after  receiving  a  shot  or  two. 
The  men  begged  for  quarter,  which  was  readily  promised.  There  were 
seventy  blacks,  and  a  considerable  number  of  passengers  on  board  ;  the 
lading  consisted  of  bale  goods  ;  and  there  was  a  considerable  quantity  of 
pearls.  The  vessel  was  about  270  tons  burthen,  commanded  by  Don 
Joseph  i^izabala,  who  informed  them  that  the  bishop  and  his  attendants 


h?i(3  been  landed  at  Point  St.  Helena,  and  were  gone  by  land  to  Guaquil. 
On  the  17th,  all  the  men  intended  for  the  descent  upon  Guaquil,  to  the 
number  of  201,  went  on  board  the  barks,  each  having  a  ticket  delivered 
to  him,  signifying  what  company  he  belonged  to,  and  his  particular  sta- 
tion, which  was  thought  necessary  to  prevent  the  men  from  straggling. 
As  there  were  300  prisoners  in  custody,  and  those  to  guard  them  but 
little  more  than  a  third  of  that  number,  irons  were  sent  on  board  the 
Duke  and  the  other  vessels,  in  order  to  intimidate  the  captives. 

Captains  Fry  and  Cook,  to  whom  wore  committed  the  care  of  the  Duke 
and  Duchess,  were  directed  to  keep  out  at  sea  for  forty-eight  hours,  to 
prevent  their  being  discovered  by  the  enemy  ;  and  afterward  to  wait  the 
event  of  the  expedition  at  Punta  Arena,  ofi  which  place  Captain  Rogers 
and  his  barks,  together  with  Captain  Courtney,  came  to  an  anchor  at  ten 
o'clock  at  night ;  when  taking  to  their  boatsj  with  about  forty  men,  they 
made  for  Puna,  an  island  covered  with  swamps  and  overrun  with  man- 
groves, and  in  the  morning  came  to  a  grappling  close  under  the  land,  out 
of  sight  of  the  look-out.  At  seven  on  the  evening  of  the  19th,  the  ships 
came  to  an  anchor  between  St.  Clara  and  Tumbez  ;  the  boats  weifhing, 
rowed  within  half  a  mile  of  the  town,  and  came  to  a  grappling,  disposing 
themselves,  for  fear  of  being  discovered,  in  such  a  manner  that  they  had 
the  appearance  of  drift  timber  upon  the  water.  By  break  of  day  on  the 
20th,  they  got  close  up  with  the  town,  and  secured  all  the  canoes  ;  and, 
notwithstanding  an  alarm  was  spread  by  an  Indian  who  escaped,  they 
seized  the  governor  of  the  town,  and  with  him  about  twenty  people,  who 
assured  them  that  the  inhabitants  of  Guaquil  could  have  no  information 
of  their  being  so  near,  those  who  had  fled  from  Puna  having  taken  refuge 
in  the  woods.  In  this  town  they  found  a  paper  that  had  been  sent  from 
Lima,  copies  of  which  were  also  dispersed  all  along  the  coast,  to  give 
notice  that  Captain  Dampier  was  again  arrived  in  those  seas  ;  they  were, 
however,  convinced  that  they  should  be  able  to  execute  what  they  intend- 
edj  before  any  forces  could  arrive  from  Lima  to  oppose  their  designs. 

On  the  morning  of  the  21st,  the  Beginning  was  sent  ahead  toward 
Punta  Arena,  on  the  Island  of  Puna,  for  fear  of  any  danger ;  but  she 
fqund  there  only  an  empty  vessel  riding  close  under  the  point :  she  proved 
to  be  a  new  Spanish  bark,  that  had  been  sent  to  load  salt ;  but  the  crew, 
on  sight  of  the  English,  thought  proper  to  abandon  her.  All  apprehen- 
sions being  now  totally  removed,  the  boats  and  barks  rowed  for  the  town 
of  Guaquil,  and  at  eleven  saw  a  light  in  the  town.  On  this,  they  rowed 
as  easily  as  possible,  till  within  a  mile  of  it,  for  fear  of  a  discovery,  and 
then  heard  the  sentinels  call  to  one  another,  talk  some  time,  and  bid  him 
bring  fire.  Finding  they  were  discovered,  they  rowed  over  to  the  other 
side  against  the  town,  saw  a  fire  made  at  the  place  where  the  sentinels 
talked,  and  soon  after,  many  lights  at  the  water-side  and  all  over  the  town  : 
henrd  them  ring  the  alarm  bell,  fire  several  volleys,  and  saw  them  light 
a  fire  on  the  hill  where  the  beacon  was  kept,  to  give  the  town  notice  that 
they  were  come  up  the  river, 

.The  boats  came  now  to  a  grappling,  and  such  a  violent  dispute  arose 
among  some  of  the  chief  officers,  that  they  were  heard  on  shore,  but  the 
Spaniards,  not  understanding  what  they  said,  fetched  an  Englishman  to 
the  water-side,  to  interpret  what  they  heard  ;  but  before  he  came  the 
debate  was  at  an  end.  A  council  was  held  in  the  stern  of  one  of  the 
boats,  to  resolve  whether  they  should  land  hnmediaiely,  or  stay  till  day- 
break ;  and  as  the  officers  differed  in  their  opinions,  it  was  agreed,  since 
they  did  not  know  the  ground,  and  the  barks  were  not  come  up,  which 


112  VOYAGES  ROUND  THiS  WORLD. 

had  near  half  the  men  and  the  artillery  on  board,  to  stay  till  daylight,  by 
which  time  it  was  hoped  the  barks  would  join  them  ;  therefore  they  fell 
a  little  way  down  the  river  to  meet  them,  hearing  several  musket-shots 
in  their  way,  which  they  at  first  thought  were  fired  by  the  Spaniards 
along  the  shore. 

At  break  of  day,  on  the  22d,  saw  one  of  the  barks  at  anchor  close 
under  the  shore,  within  a  mile  of  the  town  ;  at  flood  descried  the  other 
coming  up  the  river  ;  they  then  rowed  back  to  the  bark,  which  had  fired 
the  muskets  above-mentioned  at  some  fishermen  who  were  passing,  and 
whom  they  made  prisoners.  When  their  forces  were  thus  reassembled, 
they  held  a  council  in  the  pinnace,  sailed  up  the  river,  and  sent  a  flag  of 
truce  with  the  captain  of  the  French  built  ship,  the  Governor  of  Puna, 
and  another  prisoner  ;  then  towed  up  the  barks  abreast,  and  came  to  an 
anchor  .igainst  the  town.  When  the  captam  of  the  French  built  ship 
came  to  the  corregidor,  or  mayor  of  the  town,  he  asked  the  number  of 
English,  which  the  captain  pretended  to  be  greater  than  it  really  was. 
The  corregidor  said  they  were  boys,  and  not  men ;  to  which  the  captain 
replied,  he  would  find  they  were  men ;  for  they  had  fought  him  bravely 
in  their  open  boat,  though  he  had  killed  the  brother  of  one  of  the  cap- 
tains, and  wounded  and  killed  others  :  and,  therefore,  advised  him  to 
agree  for  the  ransom  of  the  town,  for  though  he  had  3000  men,  he  would 
not  be  able  to  withstand  them.  To  this  the  corregidor  replied,  "My 
horse  is  ready.'* 

On  the  33d  they  went  up  the  river  after  some  vessels  in  the  pinnace, 
six  of  which  they  took  and  brought  to  an  anchor  by  the  barks  ;  they  also 
seized  two  new  vessels,  of  about  400  tons  each,  and  then  went  on  shore 
with  a  flag  of  truce,  and  the  governor  came  on  board  one  of  the  prizes, 
to  consult  concerning  the  ransom  of  the  town  and  ships  ;  this  they  could 
not  agree  about,  and  he  promised  to  return  again  at  seven  in  the  evening, 
but  was  not  so  good  as  his  word.  The  boats  now  went  up  the  river  again 
to  search  for  more  ships,  but  returned  without  finding  any,  but  they  took 
several  canoes  with  some  plate  on  board.  The  sentinels  hailed  a  boat 
after  midnight,  which  came  on  board  with  one  gentleman,  who  said  he 
was  sent  by  the  corregidor,  with  a  present  of  two  bags  of  flour,  two  sheep, 
and  two  hogs  ready  killed ;  also  two  jars  of  brandy  and  two  of  wine ; 
and  to  assure  them  that  the  governor  would  have  been  with  them  accord- 
ing to  his  appointment,  but  was  prevented  by  the  absence  of  one  of  the 
principal  merchants  concerned.  He  would  come  off,  however,  in  the 
morning  by  seven  o'clock  ;  and  hoped  they  would  do  him  the  justice  to 
believe  he  was  a  man  of  honour  ;  for  though  he  had  been  greatly  rein- 
forced since  he  left  them,  he  was  determmed  to  wait  on  them  agreeable 
to  his  promise.  The  captains  sent  their  compliments  to  the  corregidor, 
and  thanks  for  his  present,  and  said  they  were  sorry  they  had  nothing  to 
send  him  by  way  of  return  ;  but  desired  he  might  be  told,  they  were  sur- 
prised he  had  not  kept  his  word,  but  depended  that  he  would  convince 
them  of  his  being  a  man  of  honour,  by  meeting  them  at  seven  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  or  there  should  be  a  final  end  of  the  treaty. 

They  waited  with  impatience  till  seven  in  the  morning,  when  they  saw 
a  flag  of  truce  on  board  one  of  the  new  ships,  where  they  supposed  the 
governor  to  be,  and  therefore  manned  their  pinnace,  and  sent  their  linguist 
to  give  their  promise,  that  if  the  corregidor  would  come  on  board  the 
prize,  he  should  have  full  liberty  to  return  ;  on  which  he  came  on  board 
with  three  other  persons.  The  barks  belonging  to  the  two  frigates  were 
now  ordej^d  to  go  close  under  the  shore,  near  the  best  part  of  the  town> 


WOODES  ROGERS.  113 

and  everything  to  be  held  in  readiness  for  landing,  in  case  they  should 
not  agree  with  the  corregidor.  The  three  captains  at  first  demanded  that 
50,000  pieces  of  eight  should  be  paid  for  the  ransom  of  the  town,  the 
two  new  ships,  and  the  six  barks  ;  besides  which,  the  governor  was  to 
oblige  himself  to  purchase  the  goods  and  negroes,  which  were  taken  in 
the  prizes,  at  certain  stipulated  prices,  to  be  paid  within  nine  days. 

The  Spaniards  agreed  to  the  latter  article,  offering  to  leave  two  hos- 
tages for  the  performance  of  it,  which  were  thought  insufficient  ;  but  they 
refused  to  give  near  the  sum  demanded  for  the  town  and  ships,  saying, 
they  had  men  and  arms  sufficient  to  defend  themselves.  From  this  delay 
the  captain  suspected  that  they  only  wanted  to  gain  time,  and  therefore 
informed  them  that  they  could  take  the  town  or  seize  the  ships  at  plea- 
sure; that  they  looked  on  both  the  one  and  the  other  as  much  their  own 
as  if  already  in  their  possession  ;  and  if  their  demands  were  not  instantly 
complied  with,  they  would  fire  both  town  and  ships  before  night.  After 
some  little  consideration,  the  corregidor  and  his  companions  agreed  to 
buy  the  cargoes,  and  to  give  hostages  for  40,000  pieces  of  eight  for  the 
town,  the  two  new  ships,  and  the  barks  ;  but  they  declined  signing  this 
agreement  till  they  had  the  consent  of  the  principal  persons  of  the  town, 
which  the  corregidor  undertook  to  procure  in  the  space  of  an  hour.  About 
one  in  the  afternoon  the  corregidor  was  put  on  shore  in  Captain  Rogers's 
pinnace  ;  some  of  the  men  were  for  stopping  him,  because  not  long  be- 
fore an  Indian  came  off  in  a  canoe  to  know  whether  he  had  agreed  with 
the  English,  as,  in  case  he  had  not,  his  men  were  in  readiness  to  begin 
the  fight,  and  waited  only  for  his  orders  ;  but  the  corregidor  insisting  that 
the  detaining  him  would  be  contrary  to  the  flag  of  truce,  he  was  permit- 
ted to  depart ;  the  three  gentlemen,  however,  remained  as  hostages,  at 
the  request  of  the  corregidor,  who  did  not  doubt  but  the  agreement  would 
soon  be  ratified. 

When  the  time  allotted  for  the  answer  was  expired,  a  messenger  came 
from  the  town  to  inform  them  that  they  could  raise  but*  30,000  pieces  of 
eitrht,  and  he  did  not  mention  a  single  word  of  trade.  On  this  they  sent 
their  linguist  and  one  prisoner  with  their  final  message,  which  was,  that 
if  in  half  an  hour  they  did  not  send  three  more  good  hostages  for  the 
40,000  pieces  of  eight  agreed  on,  they  would  strike  the  flag  of  truce,  land, 
give  no  quarter,  and  fire  the  town  and  ships.  In  the  meantime,  they  saw 
the  Spaniards  quit  the  two  new  ships,  and  they  immediately  took  posses- 
sion of  tliem.  The  messenger  returned,  and  in  about  half  an  hour  three 
men  more  came  from  the  town  to  the  bank  opposite  the  captain's  barks, 
where  they  held  out  a  white  handkerchief,  as  if  to  treat  farther.  They 
said  that  the  resolution  was  to  give  32,000  pieces  of  eight,  and  no  more  ; 
to  which  the  English  rephed  they  had  done  treating,  and  bid  them  retire 
immediately  out  of  the  reach  of  their  shot,  as  they  valued  their  lives. 
They  now  struck  their  white  flag,  and  let  fly  their  martial  colours. 

Captain  Rogers  ordered  two  guns,  of  about  six  hundred  weight  each, 
mounted  on  carriages,  into  the  great  launch,  and  filled  their  three  boats 
with  men  in  order  to  land  ;  he  then  went  himself  into  a  pinnace,  Captain 
Courtney  in  another,  and  Captain  Dover  in  the  launch,  the  three  boats 
carrying  about  seventy  men.  They  towed  the  launch  ashore ;  the  third 
lieutenant  remained  on  board  the  bark,  with  ten  men,  to  play  their  guns 
into  the  town  as  they  landed  ;  where  the  Spaniards,  compared  with  their 
little  army,  made  a  formidable  appearance.  As  soon  as  they  landed, 
which  v.as  about  four  iu  the  afternoon,  the  men  fired,  on  their  knees,  at 
the  brink  of  the  bank,  and  then  loading,  advanced,  having  called  to  their 

10* 


il4  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

bark  to  forbear  firing,  lest  they  should  hurt  their  own  men.  They  pushed 
forward  with  such  bravery,  that  the  Spaniards  fired  but  one  volley,  and 
retired  back  to  their  guns,  where  their  horse  drew  up  a  second  time  ; 
while  the  English,  still  pressing  on  with  the  utmost  intrepidity,  came  to 
the  streets  of  the  town,  where  they  saw  four  guns  pointed  at  them  before  a 
spacious  church  ;  but  as  soon  as  they  came  in  sight,  the  horse  moved  off 
with  great  precipitation. 

Captain  Rogers  now  called  out  to  his  men  to  run  and  seize  the  guns,  he 
himself  advancing  with  about  ten  men  within  pistol-shot  of  them,  at  which 
boldness  the  enemy  were  so  intimidated,  that  after  one  general  discharge 
they  all  fled,  except  the  gunner,  an  Irishman,  who  kept  his  post  till  he 
received  four  wounds,  of  which  he  afterward  died.  Many  more  of  the 
English  now  coming  up,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Dover  and  Cap- 
tain Courtney,  Mr  Rogers  remained  to  secure  the  post  he  had  so  bravely 
gained,  and  took  possession  of  the  church,  where  they  made  about  twelvg 
prisoners,  while  the  rest  marched  to  the  other  end  of  the  town.  From 
the  time  they  landed  till  their  seizing  the  guns  and  taking  possession  of 
the  church,  was  not  more  than  half  an  hour.  Captain  Dampier,  with 
twenty-five  men,  was  now  posted  at  the  guns,  which  he  turned  against 
the  enemy,  who  soon  fled  from  the  town.  By  this  time  the  rest  of  the 
English  being  la;ided,  marched  after  Captain  Courtney  and  Captain  Dover. 
The  men  in  general  behaved  v/ith  the  utmost  courage,  but,  as  is  generally 
the  case  with  sailors,  they  were  kept  but  little  under  command  after  the 
first  piece  was  fired  ;  but  after  the  attack,  they  forbore  hard  drinking,  and 
kept  properly  together. 

Captain  Rogers  overtook  Courtney  and  Dover  at  the  other  end  of  the 
town,  where  he  left  Courtney  to  keep  guard  at  a  church,  and  then  re- 
turned to  his  first  post,  while  Dampier  and  his  men  vrent  to  reinforce 
Dover  and  Courtney.  They  were  m  quiet  possession  of  the  town  by 
sun-set,  having  met  with  no  opposition  after  the  enemy  quitted  the  great 
church.  They  now  made  a  proper  disposition  of  their  guards,  and  in  the 
evening  Captain  Rogers  went  on  board  the  bark,  settled  a  watch,  and 
.then  returned  ashore  to  the  church.  Captain  Dover  now  set  fire  to  five 
or  six  houses  which  fronted  the  church,  which  burnt  all  night  and  the  next 
day.  The  reason  of  burning  these  was,  that  there  was  a  hill  near  this 
quarter,  and  thick  woods  within  a  musket-shot  of  the  church,  whence  the 
enemy  were  almost  continually  firing  at  him  during  the  whole  night,  but 
without  doing  any  damage  :  and  the  next  day  several  small  parties  of 
horse  and  foot  came  down,  but  retired  without  making  any  attempt.  Had 
the  Spaniards  been  courageous,  they  might  have  done  great  mischief  to 
Captain  Dover,  as  his  friends  were  not  near  enough  to  assist  him  ;  for 
the  town  being  long,  the  whole  of  it  could  not  be  kept  without  dividing 
the  men  into.parties  at  a  considerable  distance  ;  but  his  firing  the  houses 
did  him  great  service,  by  covering  the  worst  part  of  his  quarters  for  that 
night ;  and  at  daybreak  Captain  Courtney  relieved  him,  when  they  both 
quitted  those  quarters  as  a  place  too  much  exposed  to  the  enemy. 

An  Indian,  who  had  been  taken  prisoner,  informed  Rogers  that  he  knew 
of  much  money  up  the  river  in  houses  and  bark-logs  ;  whereupon  the 
Duchess's  pinnace,  with  twenty-one  men,  commanded  by  Lieutenant 
Connelly,  were  sent  up  the  river.  As  they  had  found  but  little  wealth 
in  the  town.  Captain  Rogers  was  for  sending  both  the  pinnaces  to  seize 
that  which  the  Indian  had  spoken  of,  but  the  others  would  by  no  means 
consent  to  it,  lest  the  enemy  should  engage  them  in  the  absence  of  their 
boats  and  people.     The  English  now  began,  with  iron  crows  and  other 


WOODES  ROGERS.  115 

instruments,  to  break  open  the  churches  and  all  the  store-houses,  cellars, 
&,c.,  but  in  this  they  had  very  little  success,  as  scarcely  anything  was  left 
m  the  town  except  flour,  beans,  peas,  and  jars  of  wine  and  brandy. 
These,  howerer,  they  began  to  carry  to  the  water-side,  but  as  the  wea- 
ther was  wet,  hot,  and  unhealthy,  the  men  were  so  fatigued,  and  became 
so  weak,  that  they  could  not  well  work  at  thia  employment.  Numbers 
of  the  people  were  for  taking  up  the  boarded  floor  of  the  church,  to 
search  for  treasure  among  the  dead  ;  but  Captain  Rogers  absolutely  for- 
bad its  being  done,  because  not  long  before  their  arrival  a  pestilential 
disease  had  carried  oflf  great  numbers  of  people.  They  found  only  two 
of  the  enemy  killed  in  the  town,  one  of  whom  was  the  Irish  gunner 
above-mentioned ;  and  made  one  prisoner,  who  was  wounded  in  the 
head  ;  but  on  inquiry,  they  were  told  that  fifteen  were  killed  and  wound- 
ed.    Among  the  English  only  two  were  wounded. 

On  the  24th  the  English  colours  were  kept  flying  all  day  on  the  tow- 
ers of  the  church,  where  Captain  Dover  kept  guard  ;  while  Rogers  and 
Courtney  took  care  to  have  what  they  found  most  useful  conveyed  to 
the  water-side.  On  this  day  the  Governor  of  Puna  and  another  prison- 
er were  sent  to  the  enemy,  who  were  in  the  woods  at  about  a  league's 
distance,  with  proposals  for  ransoming  the  town.  They  returned  in  the 
evening  with  an  ambiguous  answer,  but  desired  to  be  sent  back  again  the 
next  morning,  in  hopes  to  prevent  the  burning  of  the  town.  They  had 
intelligence  now  that  the  enemy  were  coming  down  the  hill ;  on  which  an 
alarm  was  given,  and  part  of  the  men  being  left  with  the  guns.  Captain 
Rogers  marched  with  the  rest,  and  met  Captain  Courtney  on  the  bridge, 
retiring,  who  reported  that  the  enemy  were  numerous  and  well  armed  at 
the  north  end  of  the  town.  Rogers  desiring  they  might  march  against 
them,  Courtney  consented  ;  whereupon  they  went  forward  with  their 
whole  force,  which  did  not  exceed  seventy  men  ;  but  on  their  advancing, 
the  Spaniards  retired  into  the  woods,  from  whence  they  assailed  them 
with  firing  shots,  which  the  English  returned  at  random ;  and  the  cap- 
tains nut  agreeing  about  keeping  possession  of  that  end  of  the-  town, 
marched  back,  taking  some  of  the  most  valuable  effects,  which  they  sent 
on  board  the  barks. 

About  ten  o'clock  at  night  the  boat,  which  had  been  sent  up  the  river, 
returned,  having  been  absent  about  twenty- four  hours.  They  had  pro- 
ceeded about  seven  leagues,  and  sixteen  of  the  men  had  landed  at  sis 
different  places,  the  others  taking  care  of  he  boat,  having  a  swivel  gun 
to  defend  themselves.  At  one  place  they  separated,  and  four  of  the  men 
rambled  so  far  into  the  woods  in  search  of  wealth  that,  after  wandering 
about  three  hours,  they  could  not  find  their  way  back  to  their  companions, 
but  they  met  them  again  afterward,  by  mere  accident,  and  got  to  the 
boat.  They  had,  at  difl'erent  places,  some  skirmishes  with  the  enemy ; 
and  in  particular,  chased  thirty-five  horsemen,  who  were  well  armed,  and 
coming  to  assist  the  inhabitants  of  Guaquil.  They  found  the  houses  up 
the  river  full  of  women  ;  at  one  place  there  were  above  a  dozen  well 
dressed  and  handsome,  from  whom  they  took  several  gold  chains  and 
ear-rings  ;  but  were  in  other  respects  so  civil  to  them,  that  the  ladies 
brought  them  a  cask  of  good  liquor,  and  offered  to  dress  victuals  for  the 
party. 

Several  of  the  largest  gold  chains  they  had  concealed  by  fastening  them 
round  their  middles,  legs,  and  thighs;  but  as' in  those  hot  countries  the 
women  go  extremely  thinly  clothed  in  fine  linen  and  silk,  the  men  by 
pressing  on  the  outside  of  their  clothes  felt  the  chains,  and  by  means  of. 


116  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

their  linguist,  modestly  desired  them  to  take  them  off  with  their  own 
hands.  As  they  returned  down  the  river,  they  called  at  this  house  for 
provisions,  and  as  they  had  been  so  civil  at  first,  the  ladies  expressed 
neither  surprise  nor  uneasiness  at  a  second  visit.  In  their  progress,  they 
had  seized  a  large  empty  bark,  but  thought  proper  to  abandon  her.  They 
brought  back  with  them,  in  plate,  ear-rings,  and  gold  chains,  to  the  valtie 
of  £1000,  but  were  of  opinion  they  lost  much  more  than  they  got,  for 
want  of  another  boat ;  for  while  they  were  upon  the  search  on  one  side, 
the  bark-logs  and  canoes  crossed  the  river  in  their  sight,  carrying  many 
persons,  with  their  effects,  out  of  their  reach.  They  also  acquainted 
Captain  Rogers,  that  in  the  places  where  they  had  been  above  the  town, 
they  had  seen  more  than  300  armed  horse  and  foot,  in  several  parlies,  so 
that  they  apprehended  the  design  of  the  enemy,  in  pretending  to  ransom, 
was  to  gain  time  till  able  to  attack  them  with  great  superiority  of  num- 
bers. Hearing  this,  the  English,  for  fear  of  a  surprise,  agreed  to  assem- 
ble in  a  body  at  every  alarm,  which,  on  the  sight  of  any  large  parties, 
was  beat  several  times  in  a  day.  Three  drums,  several  swords  and 
lances,  and  a  quantity  of  arms,  five  jars  of  powder,  together  with  some 
matches  and  shot,  were  found  in  the  church,  where  Captain  Ilogers  also 
found  the  corregidor's  gold-headed  cane,  and  another  with  a  silver  head  ; 
for  among  the  Spaniards,  none  carry  a  cane  but  the  chief  officers  ;  and 
no  person  must  use  one  with  a  silver  or  gold  head  who  is  under  the  de- 
gree of  a  captain. 

About  one  in  the  afternoon  of  the  25th  of  April,  the  prisoners  returned 
\yith  an  offer  of  30,000  pieces  of  eight,  as  a  ransom  for  the  town,  ships, 
and  barks,  to  be  paid  within  the  space  of  twelve  days  ;  which  the  cap- 
tains did  not  approve,  nor  would  they  have  waited  so  long  for  a  much 
larger  sum,  as  they  had  received  undoubted  intelligence  that  the  Spa- 
niards had  sent  an  express  to  Lima,  to  hasten  the  succours  expected 
thence.  The  captains,  therefore,  agreed  upon  sending  this  final  answer ; 
that  the  town  should  be  set  on  fire,  by  three  o'clock  the  next  afternoon, 
if  sufficient  hostages  were  not  immediately  delivered  for  the  payment  of 
30,000  pieces  of  eight  wiihin  six  days  ;  and  that  in  the  interim  a  cessa- 
tion of  arms  should  be  granted.  This  day  the  enemy  appeared  thick  in 
the  woods  ;  and  in  the  afternoon  an  officer  and  nine  men  were  engaged 
at  the  north  end  of  the  town  with  a  party  of  Spaniards,  whom  they  drove 
into  the  v/oods.  But  following  them  too  far,  they  were  attacked  by 
others,  when  one  of  the  English  was  shot  through  the  calf  of  the  leg; 
and  another,  who  was  endeavouring  to  recharge  his  piece,  received  a  shot 
upon  the  middle  of  hi?;  po^e-axe  that  hung  by  his  side,  which  made  an 
impression  upon  the  irons  and  bruised  the  flesh  directly  under  it,  but  did 
no  other  material  injury.  The  person  who  was  shot  in  the  leg,  living 
irregularly  and  drinking  hard,  fell  mto  a  fever,  which  cost  him  his  life. 

They  laid  this  night  in  the  church,  keeping  sentinels  round  it,  within 
a  musket-shot  of  each  other,  with  a  charge  to  challenge  each  other  every 
quarter  of  an  hour :  and  every  man  to  keep  his  arms  and  ammunition  in 
the  most  exact  order,  and  be  ready  to  rise  at  the  least  alarm.  A  French- 
man, belonging  to  Captain  Rogers's  company,  who,  with  some  others,  had 
been  sent  to  strengthen  Captain  Courtney's  quarters,  standing  sentry  in 
'the  night,  shot  one  of  the  sailors  dead.  This  accident  was  occasioned 
by  a  strict  order  that  had  been  given  to  .shoot  every  person  in  the  night 
who  did  not  answer  on  being  challenged,  which,  as  the  challenge  was 
given  in  French,  the  English  sailor  was  not  able  to  dov  At  two  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  26 tb,  the  prisoners  returned  from  the  enemy, 


WOODES  ROGERS.  Ill 

■with  two  horsemen,  who  informed  them  their  last  proposal  was  agreed 
to  ;  and  that  the  Governor  of  Puna,  who  had  been  very  iiistrumental  in 
bringing  the  affair  to  a  conclusion,  together  with  an  old  gentleman  on 
board  one  of  the  barks,  were  to  remain  as  hostages  for  the  performance 
of  it ;  but  the  messengers  said,  that  if  these  gentlemen  were  not  thought 
sufficient  security,  they  themselves  were  willing  to  remain  prisoners  ; 
which  was  not  insisted  upon,  but  they  were  permitted  to  return  to  the 
camp,  to  bring  back  the  agreement  signed. 

The  two  hostages  lay  this  night  at  the  English  quarters,  and  the  next 
morning  were  put  on  board  one  of  the  ships,  while  the  English  retired 
from  the  city  with  drums  beating  and  colours  flying,  leaving  the  Spa- 
niards at  full  liberty  to  return  to  their  houses.  Captain  Rogers,  who, 
with  a  few  men,  brought  up  the  rear,  picked  up  many  cutlasses,  pole- 
axes,  and  pistols,  which  the  men,  who  were  grown  quite  weary  of  a  mili- 
tary life,  dropped  through  laziness  as  they  marched.  Their  greatest 
difficulty  was  in  getting  the  guns  down  to  the  wator-side,  the  ground 
being  soft ;  the  men  who  helped  to  carry  them  sunk  to  the  depth  of  half 
a  leg.  To  remedy  as  much  as  possible  this  inconvenience,  they  con- 
trived a  frame  of  bamboo  canes,  under  which  six  men  could  stand,  and 
bear  an  equal  weight  on  their  shoulders.  Though  they  were  large  four 
pounders,  the  gun  and  frame  not  exceeding  1500  weight,  yet  they  would 
not  have  been  able  to  have  performed  their  work  if  the  prisoners  had  not 
assisted. 

As  Captain  Rogers  was  marching  out  of  the  town,  he  missed  one  John 
Gabriel,  a  Dutchman,  whom  he  apprehended  was  either  killed  or  made 
prisoner  :  but  the  fellow  had  taken  up  his  quarters  in  a  certain  house 
where  there  was  some  excellent  brandy  ;  of  which  he  drank  so  freely, 
that  at  last  it  laid  him  on  the  floor,  and  in  this  condition  he  was  when 
Captain  Rogers  and  his  men  left  the  town.  A  little  while  afterward,  the 
master  of  the  house  returned,  and  found  the  Dutchman  stretched  at  his 
full  length,  and  so  dnmk  that  it  was  difficult  to  distinguish  whether  he 
was  dead  or  asleep.  The  Spaniard,  however,  determined  to  make  the 
experiment  :  but  first  of  all  called  in  his  neighbours,  who  advised  him  to 
secure  the  Dutchman's  arms,  which  being  done  without  any  difficulty, 
they  then  raised  him  up  and  sat  him  on  his  feet,  when,  after  a  little  tot- 
tering, he  opened  his  eyes,  and  began  to  stare  about  him,  not  being  very 
well  satisfied  to  find  himself  awake  in  such  company.  His  landlord, 
however,  soon  set  his  heart  at  rest,  by  restoring  him  his  arms,  and  ad- 
vising him  to  make  all  the  haste  he  could  to  join  his  companions,  who 
were  not  yet  embarked.  There  needed  not  much  entreaty  to  set  the 
Dutchman  forward  ;  he  moved  with  all  imaginable  alacrity,  and  soon  got 
safe  on  board.  Captain  Rogers  informs  us  this  was  the  only  man  who 
had  drank  to  an  extraordinary  degree  since  their  fir^ft  entering  the  town. 
The  plunder  they  took,  exclusive  of  the  ransom  received  for  the  town, 
was  very  considerable  ;  being  about  230  bags  of  flour,  beans,  peas,  and 
rice,  fifteen  jars  of  oil,  160  jars  of  other  liquors,  some  cordage,  iron- 
ware, and  small  nails,  about  four  half-jars  of  powder,  about  a  ton  of 
pitch  and  tar,  a  parcel  of  clothing  and  necessaries,  about  £1200  in  plate, 
ear-rings,  &c.,  150  bales  of  dry  goods,  four  guns,  about  200  ordinary 
Spanish  arms  and  musket  barrels,  a  few  packs  of  indigo,  cocoa,  and  an- 
natto,  with  about  a  ton  of  loaf  sugar.  They  left  abundance  of  goods  in 
the  town,  besides  liquors  of  most  sorts,  and  sea-stores,  with  several 
ware-houses  full  of  cocoa,  several  ships  on  the  stocks,  and  two  nevf 
•hips  unrigged  lying  at  anchor. 


118  VOYAGtES  ROTTND  THE  WORLD. 

The  hostages  informed  them  that,  during  the  treaty,  80,000  pieces  of 
eight,  of  the  king's  money,  were  sent  out  of  the  town,  besides  their 
plate,  jewels,  and  other  things  of  the  greatest  value  ;  from  which  it  ap- 
pears, that  if  they  had  landed  at  first,  and  allowed  the  enemy  no  time, 
they  had  been  much  greater  gainers  than  they  were ;  and,  in  that  case, 
they  were  well  assured  they  might  have  made  to  the  value  of  200,000 
pieces  of  eight  in  money,  plate,  and  jewels  ;  and  yet  the  place  was  then 
poorer  than  it  had  been  for  forty  years  past,  having  been  almost  burnt 
down  about  a  year  and  a  half  before,  which  had  occasioned  a  very  great 
expense  in  the  rebuilding. 

Guaquil,  the  metropolis  of  a  province  of  that  name  in  Peru,  is  in 
length  about  a  mile  and  a  half,  and  divided  into  two  parts,  called  the 
Old  and  New  Town,  which  are  joined  by  a  bridge  about  half  a  mile  long, 
for  the  use  only  of  foot  passengers.  On  each  side  of  the  bridge  are 
some  houses  at  a  distance  ;  and  the  number  of  houses  in  both  towns 
amount  to  above  500 ;  the  inhabitants  are  about  2000. 

Some  of  the  houses  were  lofty  brick-buildings,  but  the  majority  of  tim- 
ber or  bamboos  split,  and  many  were  decently  furnished.  In  the  mer- 
chants' store-houses  were  great  quantities  of  meal,  brandy,  sugar,  clothing, 
cordage,  and  iron.  Some  of  the  inhabitants  had  calashes,  which  could 
be  but  of  Uttle  use,  unless  to  carry  them  a  stone's  throw  to  church,  for 
the  ground  is  so  boggy,  especially  in  winter,  that  no  road  could  be  made 
for  them.  This  morass-ground  was  full  of  large  toads,  some  of  them 
as  big  as  an  English  two-penny  loaf.  The  town  is  governed  by  a  cor- 
regidor,  who  is  the  chief  magistrate  and  appointed  by  the  khig.  It  is 
well  situated  for  trade  and  ship  building,  lying  seven  leagues  from  Puna, 
and  fourteen  from  Punta  Arena,  upon  a  large  river,  which  receives  many 
small  ones  that  fall  into  it ;  this  river  has  many  villages  and  farm-houses 
on  its  banks,  on  which  grow  abundance  of  mangroves  and  sarsapariila, 
which,  impregnating  its  waters,  are  said  to  render  them  efficacious  against 
diseases.  But  when  the  floods  come  down  from  the  mountains,  the 
water  is  reckoned  unwholesome,  on  account  of  its  bringing  down  several 
poisonous  plants  and  fruits,  among  which  is  the  machanilla,  a  kind  of 
poisonous  apple,  which  kills  all  birds  that  taste  of  it ;  and  the  English, 
while  they  were  there,  saw  hundreds  of  them  dead  upon  the  water. 

Captain  Rogers  took  his  leave  of  the  barks  a  mile  below  the  town, 
with  the  pinnacq  double  manned,  designing  to  get  before  them  to  the 
ships  at  Punta  Arena,  The  day  proved  excessively  hot,  and  they  saw 
many  alligators  in  the  river.  On  the  following  day,  which  was  the  28th 
of  April,  Captain  Rogers  reached  Puna,  where  he  met  Mr.  Duck  and  Mr. 
Hatley,  in  the  Beginning,  with  an  empty  bark  they  had  taken  ;  the  Spa- 
niards having  gone  on  shore,  and  left  her  at  anchor  off  Punta  Arena. 
The  people  left  behind  were  much  concerned  at  the  delay  of.  their  com- 
panions, and  the  scarcity  of  water  was  so  great  that  for  some  time  past 
the  prisoners  had  been  allowed  but  a  pint  a  day.  They  had  also  been 
obliged  to  sink  a  small  prize  which  they  had  taken,  to  prevent  the  pri- 
soners running  away  with  her,  as  they  could  not  spare  hands  sufficient 
for  manning  her  securely. 

Captain  Rogers  got  on  board  by  daylight,  and  found  his  people  hear- 
tily rejoiced  at  his  return,  after  an  absence  of  twelve  days,  on  an  expe- 
dition subject  to  so  many  dangers  and  difficulties,  all  of  which  he 
had  happily  surmounted.  Lieutenants  Cooke  and  Fry  had,  during  this 
time,  been  under  great  uneasiness  on  account  of  the  prisoners,  to  whom 
they  allowed  their  liberty  in  the  day-time,  but  at  night  were  shut  up  in 


WOODES  ROGERS.  119 

the  forecastle,  or  between  decks.  On  board  the  prize,  which  was  not  so 
secure,  they  put  them  in  irons  every  evening,  atid  set  them  free  in  the 
morning  ;  but  never  allowed  any  correspondence  between  the  prisoners 
in  the  several  ships,  by  which  means  they  were  ignorant  of  their  own 
strength  and  the  weakness  of  their  masters. 

A  vessel  coming  in  sight  about  three  in  the  afternoon  of  the  29th  of 
April,  Captain  Cook  despatched  the  Havre  de  Grace's  boat,  well  manned, 
in  pursuit,  and  she  immediately  surrendered.  She  proved  to  be  a  bark 
of  thirty  tons  burthen,  laden  with  beans,  peas,  quinces,  marmalade, 
plums,  apples,  oranges,  pomegranates,  Guaquil  sheep,  270  sacks  of 
flour,  200  sugar  loaves,  and  some  dried  beef.  She  had  six  men  on  board, 
besides  the  master  ;  had  been  out  seven  days  from  Pulania,  where  they 
had  left  some  stout  French  ships ;  and  orders  had  been  lately  received 
from  Lima,  directing  them  to  keep  a  good  look-out,  as  an  English  squa- 
dron was  soon  expected  in  those  seas,  but  that  it  was  not  known  against 
what  particular  place  they  were  bound. 

They  waited  with  impatience  from  this  time  to  the  2d  of  May,  in  ex- 
pectation of  the  ransom  for  the  town  of  Guaquil,  and  they  now  began 
to  think  that  the  corregidor  meant  to  parley  with  them  till  forces  should 
arrive  from  Lima ;  and  the  hostages  expected  no  better  fate  than  to  be 
carried  prisoners  to  England.  They  w^ere  in  some  degree  relieved  from 
these  uneasy  reflections  by  the  arrival  of  a  boat  in  the  evening,  with 
22,000  pieces  of  eight,  in  part  payment  ;  upon  which  many  of  the  pri- 
soners were  put  on  shore,  and  a  message  to  the  corregidor  sent  back  by 
the  same  boat,  informing  him  they  intended  to  sail  the  next  day,  and 
would  carry  the  hostages  away  with  them,  if  the-remainder  of  the  money 
was  not  sent  before  their  departure.  In  a  short  time  after  this,  Captain 
Courtney  took  charge  of  the  Havre  de  Grace,  and  fell  down  with  her  to 
Punta  Arena,  to  which  place  Captain  Rogers  agreed  to  follow  him  the 
next  morning,  waiting  only  to  take  on  board  some  hogs,  sheep,  black 
cattle,  plantains,  cocoas,  water,  sails,  and  other  necessary  matters,  which 
were  still  on  shore.  Before  his  departure  he  put  on  shore  the  governor 
of  Puna,  who  was  one  of  the  hostages,  making  him  several  presents.  A 
boat  came  on  the  next  day,  with  some  3000  dollars  more,  and  the  persons 
who  brought  it  declared  the  remainder,  and  also  1200  dollars  to  trade 
for  goods,  should  soon  come.  But  Captain  Courtney  being  of  opinion 
this  was  only  a  pretence  for  detaining  them  till  a  squadron  of  ships 
could  be  fitted  out  at  Lima,  insisted  they  should  immediately  quit  this 
station,  in  which  he  was  seconded  by  a  majority  of  the  officers,  on  which 
they  resolved  to  make  all  possible  despatch.  The  Beginning  being  small, 
and  of  no  farther  use,  they  sold  her  to  the  Spaniards  for  about  the  value 
of  fifty  pounds  sterling,  which  was  paid  in  gold  chains,  pearls,  &c.,  and 
they  put  the  prisoners  on  board  ;  but  kept  the  pilots,  together  with  a 
person  who  could  speak  English,  the  son  of  the  President  of  Panama,  and 
three  remaining  hostages. 

They  now  bore  away  for  the  Gallapagos  islands,  with  a  strong  gale  at 
south-south-west;  and,  discovering  land  on  the  17th,  by  daybreak  next 
morning  were  within  four  leagues  of  two  large  islands,  nearly  joined  to- 
gether. Having  first  agreed  where  to  meet  in  case  of  separation,  they 
now  sent  their  boat  on  shore  twice  in  search  of  water,  but  she  returned 
with  a  melancholy  account  that  none  was  to  be  found,  and  that  the 
island  was  nothing  but  loose  earth,  very  rotten  and  heavy,  which  broke 
like  cinders  under  their  feet ;  and  the  ground  was  so  parched  that  it 
would  not  bear  the  weight  of  a  man,  which  induced  Captain  Rogers  to 


120  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

believe  it  had  been  a  volcano,  though,  he  says,  there  was  some  greens 
and  shrubs  upon  it.  The  Duchess  having  caught  a  considerable  quan- 
tity of  turtle  and  other  fish,  distributed  it  on  the  21st  among  the  sick  of 
both  ships,  which,  as  their  provisions  were  nearly  exhausted,  proved  of 
the  utmost  service.  But  their  present  unhappiness  was  not  a  little  in- 
creased, by  finding  the  medicines  begin  to  run  shore,  while  the  sick  drop- 
ped off  apace  ;  it  was  observed  that  none  died  except  those  who  were 
on  shore  at  Guaquil. 

On  the  22d  Mr.  Hatley,  with  five  men  on  board  one  of  the  prize  barks, 
having  water  on  board  for  only  two  days,  together  with  a  galleon,  another 
of  the  prize  ships,  were  missing  :  nor  was  their  any  sign  of  their  return- 
ing, though  lights  were  kept  at  the  top-mast  heads  of  the  Duke  and 
Duchess  all  night,  and  guns  continually  fired.  Captain  Rogers,  with  the 
Duke,  the  Havre  de  Grace,  and  the  bark,  went  directly  in  search  of  them, 
and  came  up  wilh  the  galleon  in  a  few  honrs,  near  the  easternmost  island  ; 
but  could  obtain  no  intelligence  of  Hatley,  whom  they  began  to  give  up 
for  lost.  It  was  agreed  in  a  council  of  officers,  on  the  26th,  to  stand 
over  to  the  main  in  search  of  water,  which  could  not  be  found  on  any  of 
the  islands.  On  the  6th  of  June,  a  discourse  was  overheard  by  one  of 
the  sailors,  between  the  Indian  and  black  prisoners,  who  proposed  to 
murder  the  English,  and  run  away  with  the  ship.  On  being  charged 
with  it,  they  denied  having  designed  any  such  thing  ;  but  acknowledged 
they  had  had  some  conversation  of  the  kind,  without,  however,  any  seri- 
ous intentions;  to  prevent  any  evil  consequences  that  might  arise  from 
these  cabals,  Captain  Rogers  divided  them  among  the  other  ships. 

On  this  day  the  Duchess,  after  a  short  chase,  took  a  vessel  of  ninety 
tons  burthen,  named  the  St.  Thomas  de  Villa  Nova,  Juan  Navarro  Na- 
va^et  commander,  bound  from.  Panama  to  Guaquil.  There  were  on 
board  about  forty  passengers,  among  whom  was  Don  Juan  Cardosa,  going 
to  take  upon  him  the  command  of  Baldivia,  of  which  place  he  had  been 
appointed  governor.  On  the  7th  they  anchored  about  a  cable's  length 
from  the  shore,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Island  of  Gorgona,  and  on  the  8th 
the  boats  of  the  Duke  and  Duchess  seized  a  bark  of  fiiieen  tons  burthen, 
called  the  Golden  Sun,  with  ten  Spaniards  and  Indians  on  board,  toge- 
ther with  a  few  negroes.  She  had  no  cargo  except  a  small  quantity  of 
gold  dust,  and  a  large  gold  chain,  with  which  they  were  going  to  Gua- 
quil to  purchase  salt  and  brandy.  On  the  9th,  in  the  evening,  a  council 
of  all  the  officers,  except  Captain  Rogers,  who  was  indisposed,  was  held 
on  board  tho  Duchess,  wherein,  after  the  prisoners  had  been  examined, 
it  was  resolved,  from  the  accounts  given  of  its  situation  and  advantages, 
to  steer  for  the  Island  of  Malaga,  where  they  designed  to  leave  their  ships 
in  a  safe  road,  and  then  row  up  the  river  in  their  boats,  till  enabled  to 
surprise  some  canoes,  with  which  they  might  more  effectually  stem  the 
tides  of  the  river.  In  these  canoes  they  were  to  proceed  to  the  golden 
mines  of  Barbacore,  or  Juan,  where  they  expected  to  find  a  considerable 
booty,  the  Spaniards  in  that  neighbourhood  having  no  kind  of  intelligence 
that  an  enemy  was  so  near. 

As  Captain  Rogers  had  previously  agreed  to  yield  his  assent  to  what- 
ever should  be  determined  on,  they  made  sail  for  Malaga  about  twelve 
o'clock  the  same  night  ;  but  when  acquainted  with  the  result  of  their 
deliberations,  he  determined  to  discourse  with  Mr.  Morel,  and  some 
other  of  the  prisoners,  of  whose  knowledge  respecting  the  place  of  their 
destination  he  was  well  assured.  These  informed  him,  that  whoevei 
advised  the  council  to  those  measures  now  intended  to  be  pursued,  either 


WOODES  ROGERS.  121 

designed  to  ruin  them,  or  were  totally  unacquainted  with  the  affair  ;  for 
the  Island  of  Malaga  was  not  only  unfrequented  and  barren,  but  the  road 
extremely  narrow  and  full  of  shoals  ;  that  if  the  ships  got  over,  which 
could  only  be  affected  at  spring  tides,  there  was  the  utmost  danger  of 
their  being  run  ashore.  They  likewise  said,  the  banks  of  the  river  all 
the  way  up  to  St.  Juan  were  well  inhabited  by  a  race  of  people  strongly 
attached  to  the  Spaniards,  who  would  take  all  possible  measures  to  annoy 
an  enemy,  particularly  by  their  poisoned  arrows,  from  the  covert  of  the 
woods  ;  and  that  the  channel  was  so  narrow,  that  by  felling  trees  across, 
they  might  effectually  prevent  the  retreat  of  invaders,  and  cut  them  to 
pieces. 

The  captain  was  so  strongly  affected  with  this  information,  and  saw 
the  danger  to  which  they  were  about  to  expose  themselves  in  so  clear 
a  light,  that  he  immediately  sent  for  Captains  Courtney  and  Cook,  and 
acquainting  them  with  what  he  had  heard,  they  immediately  changed 
their  course,  in  order  to  return  to  Gorgona,  where  it  was  determined 
to  careen  and  (it  up  the  Havre  de  Grace  as  a  twenty  gun  ship,  to  be 
commanded  by  Captain  Cook,  and  manned  out  of  the  Duke  and  Duch- 
ess, to  act  as  a  third  consort.  Coming  to  an  anchor  on  the  13th  of  June, 
near  the  shore  of  Gorgona,  in  forty  fathoms  water,  and  having  held 
a  committee,  the  Duchess  was  appointed  to  careen,  and  the  Duke 
to  lie  on  guard,  lest  they  should  be  surprised  by  an  enemy.  The  latter 
was  also  careened  as  soon  as  the  forrner  was  turned  out,  so  that  in  about 
a  fortnight  they  were  again  in  prime  order  for  sailing,  to  the  great  asto- 
nishment of  the  Spaniards,  who  declared  that  the  same  operation  on  one 
of  the  king's  ships,  at  Lima,  usually  took  up  six  weeks,  though  they  had 
all  kinds  of  necessaries,  and  artificers  ready  to  give  their  assistance. 

The  business  which  chiefly  engaged  them  from  the  29th  of  June  to 
the  9th  of  July,  was  fitting  out  the  Havre  de  Grace,  which  being  com- 
pletely finished,  they  gave  her  the  name  of  the  Marquis.  A  good  enter- 
tainment being  provided,  they  saluted  each  of  the  other  ships  with  three 
huzzas  from  on  board  her,  distributed  liquor  among  the  company,  drank 
thfi  healths  of  her  majesty  and  their  owners,  and  to  their  own  joint  suc- 
cess. There  were  sent  on  board  her  two  of  the  main-deck  guns  of  the 
Duke  and  two  of  the  Duchess,  which,  with  four  taken  at  Guaquil,  and 
twelve  already  in  her,  made  twenty  good  ones,  the  carriages  all  new,  or 
so  well  repaired  as  to  be  as  strong  and  good  as  if  mounted  in  England. 
Her  compliment  of  men  was  sixty-one,  besides  twenty  negroes  ;  the 
captain,  officers,  and  men,  were  to  be.  allowed  the  same  wages  as  those 
in  the  other  ships.  The  next  thing  of  importance  appeared  to  be  getting 
rid  of  the  prisoners,  who  began  to  be  a  great  burthen,  and  were  of  no 
use.  In  a  committee  held  on  the  9th,  it  was  agreed  that  Captain  Dover, 
Mr.  Fry,  and  Mr.  Stratton,  with  forty-five  sailors  under  their  command, 
should  have  the  care  of  transporting  them  to  the  continent,  which  was 
immediately  put  in  practice.  The  two  Morels,  Don  Antonio,  and  Don 
Juan  Cardosa,  were  dismissed  among  the  rest,  and  at  their  departure 
appeared  to  be  highly  satisfied  with  the  treatment  they  had  met  with ; 
and  the  latter,  in  particular,  was  very  ready  to  acknowledge  this,  as  he 
had  been  once  very  ill  used  by  a  Jamaica  privateer,  which  he  had  fallen 
in  with  not  far  from  Porto  Bello. 

On  the  18th,  a  negro,  who  had  been  bit  by  a  speckled  snake,  died  in 
less  than  twelve  hours,  notwithstanding  the  utmost  exertion  of  the  sur- 
geon's skill  to  save  his  life.  There  are  great  abundance  of  these  snakes 
on  Gorgona,  some  of  which  are  three  or  four  vards  long,  and  as  thick  as 

11 


122  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

a  man's  leg.  They  are  of  an  amphibious  nature  ;  and  one  having  on  the 
same  day  conveyed  himself  on  board  the  ship,  by  the  help  of  the  cable, 
was  killed  upon  the  forecastle  by  the  men. 

On  the  20th  and  21st,  two  canoes  came  on  board  to  trade,  bringing 
with  them  money,  limes,  fowls,  and  other  provisions.  Next  day  five  of 
the  negroes  belonging  to  the  ship  hid  themselves  in  the  woods,  with  a 
view  of  deserting  to  the  Spaniards  as  soon  as  their  masters  had  left  the 
station  ;  but,  one  being  retaken  the  same  day,  was  severely  punished  ; 
and  three  more  being  forced  by  hunger  to  quit  their  asylum,  were  taken 
two  days  afterward.  On  the  27th  the  two  Morels  came  on  board  again, 
with  what  money  they  could  raise,  and  told  the  captains,  the  country 
beuig  much  alarmed,  it  was  with  great  difficulty  they  had  obtained  leave 
to  come  to  them  ;  that  the  Governor  of  Barbacore,  with  200  men,  was  at 
the  water- side  to  prevent  trading,  and  to  hinder  their  landing  ;  and  all 
the  coast  lined  with  men  assembled  for  the  same  purpose. 

A  committee  was  held  on  board  the  Duke,  in  which  it  was  agreed  to 
distribute  rewards  to  those  who  had  most  distinguished  themselves  :  when 
Mr.  James  Stratton  was  allowed  forty  rupees  :  William  Davis  and  Der- 
rick Derrickson  had  twenty  rupees  each,  (a  rupee  is  about  the  value  of 
half  a  crown  ;)  the  boat's  crew  that  engaged  the  Marquis,  when  taken, 
had  two  bales  of  baize,  one  of  serges,  and  one  of  linen,  to  be  sold  by 
them  when  and  where  they  should  think  proper ;  and  to  each  of  the 
men  who  went  up  the  river  beyond  Guaquil,  a  suit  of  clothes  was  given. 
These  rewards,  over  and  above  the  respective  shares  of  each  man,  were 
given  to  encourage  them  to  behave  gallantly  for  the  future  ;  but,  notwith- 
standing the  generosity  shown  by  the  commanders  on  this  occasion,  a 
dangerous  mutiny  was  set  on  foot  a  few  days  afterward,  which  might 
have  proved  of  a  very  fatal  consequence,  had  it  not  been  discovered  by 
the  steward  of  the  Duchess.  He  accidentally  overheard  the  ringleaders 
holding  a  council  on  the  manner  in  which  they  should  proceed  ;  above 
sixty  had  signed  articles,  by  which  they  bound  themselves  to  stand  by 
one  another  till  they  had  obtained  what  they  called  justice,  with  respect 
to  the  plunder,  which  they  imagined  had  not  been  fairly  distributed. 
Four  of  the  principal  promoters  of  this  destructive  scheme,  among  whom 
was  the  person  who  had  drawn  up  the  articles,  were  immediately  se- 
cured in  irons  ;  but  upon  expressing  their  sorrow  for  the  crime,  asking 
pardon,  and  promising  to  behave  better  for  the  future,  were  soon  after- 
ward set  at  liberty.  The  captains  thought  it  most  prudent  to  proceed  in 
a  mild  manner  :  for  to  have  punished  a  few  with  great  severity,  when  so 
many  were  concerned,  might  have  been  attended  with  very  disagreeable 
cousequences.  After  this,  affairs  began  to  move  once  more  in  their 
proper  channel. 

In  a  council  of  the  principal  officers  of  the  three  ships,  held  on  board 
the  Duchess,  on  the  6th  of  August,  they  bound  themselves  by  an  oath 
never  to  part  company  while  there  was  a  possibiUty  of  keeping  together. 
On  the  7th  it  was  agreed  to  give  up  to  Messrs.  Morel  and  Navarre  their 
respective  ships,  and  such  goods  as  were  not  worth  carrying  away,  to- 
gether with  some  negroes,  which  was  done  accordingly.  With  regard 
to  the  effects  in  the  bark,  they  agreed  with  M.  Navarre  for  12,000  pieces 
of  eight,  which,  with  3,000  that  remained  for  the  ransom  of  Guaquil,  he 
was  to  bring  to  ihem  at  Manta  within  twelve  days.  Captain  Cook  now 
valued  the  money  and  plate  on  board,  for  the  use  of  the  owners,  at 
.€20,000,  and  the  goods  at  £60,000.  Among  the  prisoners  on  board 
N?Tarre's  ship,  were  several  ladies  who,  at  their  departure,  acknowledged 


WOODES  ROGERS.  123 

the  civility  with  which  they  had  been  treated,  which  they  said  had  much 
exceeded  what  the  English  would  have  recieved  from  their  countrymen 
on  a  similar  occasion. 

The  Island  of  Gorgona  lies  in  3  degrees  north  latitude  ;  it  is  three 
leagues  in  length,  lying  north-east  and  south-west,  very  narrow,  and  about 
six  leagues  from  the  continent.  It  is  full  of  wood  and  tall  trees,  one  of 
which,  called  Palma-Maria,  is  proper  for  masts  ;  and  from  this  tree  issues 
a  balsam  efficacious  in  several  diseases.  The  island,  at  a  di3t^nce,  ap- 
pears like  three  little  hills  ;  and  along  the  north  side  there  is  riding  for 
ships  ;  but  in  some  places  foul  ground  and  shoals  near  the  shore.  Some 
of  the  Duke's  people  caught  here  an  ugly  creature,  supposed  to  be  of 
the  monkey  kind  ;  it  in  some  degree  resembled  one  of  those  animals,  only 
with  hair  thicker  and  longer ;  its  face,  eyes,  and  nose  were  less,  and 
more  wrinkled  and  deformed  ;  its  ears  were  not  so  large,  its  teeth  longer 
and  sharper  ;  its  hinder  parts  more  clumsy  ;  its  body  thicker  in  propor- 
tion ;  its  tail  very  short ;  besides,  instead  of  five  claws,  like  fingers,  which 
'a  monkey  has,  this  animal  has  only  three  on  each  paw,  which  are  sharper 
and  longer.  On  letting  this  animal  loose  at  the  lower  part  of  the  mizzen- 
shrouds,  it  was  two  hours  in  getting  to  the  mast-head,  which  a  monkey 
would  have  performed  in  less  than  half  a  minute.  It  walked  an  equal 
and  slow  pace,  as  if  all  its  movements  had  been  directed  by  clock-work. 
The  Spaniards  with  great  propriety  call  it  a  Sloth,  and  say  it  feeds  on  the 
leaves  of  a  certain  lofty  tree,  which  when  it  has  cleared,  before  it  can  get 
down,  walk  to,  and  climb  another,  it  becomes  lean,  and  is  almost  starved. 

Their  business  at  Gorgona  being  finished,  they  sailed  thence  on  the 
17th  of  August,  and  on  the  lOlh  Captain  Rogers  proposed  to  send  the 
Marquis  to  Brazil,  to  dispose  of  her  cargo  of  prize  goods  and  get  fresh 
provisions,  while  the  Duke  and  Duchess  should  continue  in  their  present 
latitude,  in  expectation  of  the  Manilla  ship  ;  but  his  proposal  was  reject- 
ed by  the  majority.  On  the  12th  found  themselves  only  thirteen  leagues 
off  Gorgona,  bearing  south  and  by  east.  On  the  18th  the  Duchess  took 
a  bark  of  seventy  tons  burthen,  bound  from  Panama  to  Lima;  she  had 
nothing  valuable  on  board,  but  twenty-four  negroes,  from  whom  they 
learned  that  the  whole  coast  was  alarmed  with  their  being  in  the  South 
Seas,  and  that  ever  since  their  taking  of  Guaquil,  the  inhabitants  were 
in  the  utmost  apprehensions  of  a  visit. 

The  two  barks  first  entered  the  Bay  of  Tecames  on  the  25th  of  August, 
and  the  consort  ships  anchored  near  them  in  a  few  hours  afterward.  It 
was  at  this  place  that  Sir  Francis  Drake  took  the  valuable  plate  prize  in 
1578.  Just  as  it  grew  dark,  Mr.  "White,  the  linguist,  having  ventured 
ashore  without  orders  with  a  Spanish  prisoner,  had  like  to  have  suffered 
for  his  rashness  ;  for  landing  opposite  some  houses,  several  Indians  at- 
tacked them  from  an  ambuscade  with  fire-arms,  bows,  arrows,  and  lances, 
though  they  called  out  in  Spanish,  and  said  they  were  friends.  They 
had  the  happiness,  however,  to  escape  being  shot,  hiding  themselves  all 
right  in  the  wood,  while  the  people  on  board  imagined  they  were  either 
killed  or  taken  prisoners  ;  but,  at  break  of  day,  they  ventured  to  call 
again  on  the  Indians,  whom  they  prevailed  on  to  trade,  provided  they  could 
obtain  the  consent  of  their  padre,  who  lived  at  six  leagues  distance  The 
linguist  informed  them  there  was  a  padre  on  board,  whom  they  desired  to 
«ee  ;  on  which  he  was  sent  on  shore,  and  wrote  a  letter  to  the  priest  of 
the  place,  informing  him  how  extremely  well  hunself  and  the  other  Spa- 
nish prisoners  were  used,  and  earnestly  recommending  a  trade.  Through 
the  mediation  of  this  friar,  they  promised  that  they  would  trade  with 


124  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

them  the  next  day,  whether  the  padre  gave  his  consent  or  not ;  and  the 
Indians  having  accepted  of  a  present  of  three  images  of  saints,  and  a 
feathered  cap,  to  be  given  to  the  wife  of  their  chief,  they  washed  off  tho 
red  paint  with  which  they  had  daubed  themselves,  and  wiiich,  while  they 
wear,  is  to  be  considered  as  a  declaration  of  war  ;  and  then  they  sent 
Captain  Rogers  a  present  of  several  bows  and  arrows. 

VVhen  the  boat  returned  with  the  priest  to  the  ship,  he  took  with  him 
one  of  the  Indians,  who  entered  it  with  a  look  of  astonishment,  and  being 
much  pleased  with  the  great  cabin,  laid  himself  down  on  his  side,  gazing 
wildly  about  for  an  hour  together,  till  Captain  Rogers,  having  given  him 
some  old  baize  lor  clothing,  a  few  toys,  and  a  dram  of  brandy,  led  hnn 
out,  and  he  was  taken  on  shore.  At  night  a  letter  was  received  from  the 
padre,  allov;ing  full  permission  to  trade,  and  the  next  day  they  received 
hogs  and  black  cattle  in  exchange  for  baize.  The  boats  were  now  sent 
up  a  creek,  laden  with  casks  to  be  filled  with  fresh  water,  w^hen  the  peo- 
ple meeting  by  chance  with  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Indians,  who  was 
painted  and  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  he  advised  them  to  go  highei* 
up  the  river,  or  they  would  find  the  water  brackish.  For  this  kind  advice 
they  offered  him  a  dram  out  of  a  quart  bottle  of  strong  brandy,  but  taking 
hold  of  the  bottle,  he  drank  the  greater  part  of  it  at  once,  and  departed 
extremely  well  pleased,  assuring  them  they  should  be  supplied  from  the 
village  with  whatever  they  wanted.  The  boats  having  brought  a  consi- 
derable quantity  of  water,  plantains,  hogs,  black  cattle,  and  other  provi- 
sions, and  the  ships  being  heeled  and  cleaned,  they  set  the  priest  on  shore, 
giving  him,  by  way  of  acknowledgment,  a  black  female  slave,  of  whom 
he  appeared  to  be  more  fond  than  became  liis  character.  They  also  sent 
to  the  friar  or  priest  of  the  village,  in  return  for  his  kindness,  a  male  negro 
and  a  piece  of  baize. 

They  now  put  all  their  prisoners  into  an  unrigged  bark,  leaving  them  at 
liberty  to  run  her  on  shore  at  high  water,  keeping  with  them  only  two  of 
the  hostages,  detained  on  account  of  the  ransom  of  Guaquil  not  being 
fully  paid  ;  and  these  they  determined  to  carry  to  England.  The  village 
of  Tecames  lies  in  a  boitom,  close  to  the  water-side,  and  consists  only 
of  seven  houses  and  a  church  ;  the  houses  are  built  with  split  bamboos, 
covered  with  palmetto  leaves,  and  raised  upon  posts,  with  hog-sties  be- 
neath them,  and  they  ascend  to  them  by  the  help  of  pieces  of  wood 
notched,  instead  of  stairs.  The  inhabitants  are  barbarous  and  resolute, 
using  fire-arms  and  poisoned  arrows  in  tiieir  engagement,  and  are  great 
adepts  at  bush  fighting.  There  is  no  dealing  with  them  by  compulsive 
methods,  and  whoever  is  under  the  necessity  of  touching  on  this  coast, 
must  endeavour  to  make  them  friends  by  gentle  methods.  The  women 
carry  their  children  at  their  backs,  and  have  no  covering  but  a  piece  of 
baize  tied  about  their  waist.  A  land-breeze  generally  springs  up  about 
midnight,  at  south  and  by  east,  which  dies  away  about  noon  ;  and  in  the 
afternoon  a  sea-breeze  comes  on,  which  continues  at  west  and  west-south- 
west till  midnight.  From  January  till  May  they  have  light  showers  to  the 
northward,  but  from  Jnne  to  December  the  weather  is  generally  dry. 

The  three  consort  ships  made  one  of  the  Gallapagos  islands  on  the  10th 
of  September,  where  they  continued  for  a  week,  taking  in  turtle  and  salt, 
of  both  which  there  is  great  plenty.  The  Spaniards  reckon  fifty  of  these 
islands,  only  one  of  which  yields  fresh  water.  They  abound  as  well 
with  sea  as  land-birds  ;  and  the  latter  are  hawks  and  turtle-doves,  which 
are  so  tame  as  to  suffer  themselves  to  be  knocked  down  with  a  stick. 
The  seals  are  so  fierce  as  to  attack  any  who  happens  to  coiue  in  their 


WOODES  ROGERS.  125 

way,  which  Captain  Rogers  experienced  :  being  on  shore,  one  of  the 
animals  advanced  to  him  with  all  the  rage  of  an  incensed  mastiff  dog  ; 
the  captam  defended  himself  by  sticking  a  pile  he  had  in  his  hand  into 
the  creature's  breast,  on  which  he  retired  a  little,  and  then  advanced 
again,  till  he  had  recieved  three  several  wounds,  when  he  retreated  to 
the  sea,  snarling  and  showing  his  long  teeth  above  the  water.  While 
they  remained  here,  ten  negroes  being  sent  on  shore  to  cut  firing,  seven 
of  tliem  deserted,  into  the  woods. 

They  sailed  on  the  17th  of  September,  and  on  the  4th  of  October 
came  up  with  the  islands  called  Tres  Marias,  where  they  remained  till  the 
24th,  to  take  in  wood  and  water  and  catch  turtle  :  but  it  was  not  without 
difficulty  that  they  found  a  stream  that  was  wholesome.  All  the  springs 
which  they  met  with,  two  only  excepted,  out  of  which  they  supplied 
themselves,  being  not  only  bitter,  but  violent  purgatives,  occasioned  by 
some  neighbouring  minerals  of  bitter  roots. 

Quitting  these  islands  on  the  25th  of  October,  on  the  1st  of  November, 
being  in  latitude  22  degrees  55  minutes,  discovered  the  land  of  California, 
about  eight  leagues  distant.  On  the  I7th  some  Indians  were  discovered 
at  a  distance  on  a  bark-log,  who  paddled  toward  them  :  they  were  at  first 
afraid  to  approach,  but  were  at  length  prevailed  upon  by  a  present  of  a 
knife  and  some  baize,  for  which  they  returned  two  live  foxes,  two  blad- 
ders of  water,  and  some  deer'  skins.  These  people  were  quite  naked, 
and  strangers  to  the  European  manner  of  trafficking.  Some  of  the  crew 
ventured  on  shore  on  bark-logs,  for  the  sea  ran  too  high  to  attempt  land- 
ing in  the  boats.  The  good-natured  natives  leaped  into  the  sea  to  guide 
the  bark-logs  in  the  best  manner  they  were  able.  On  making  the  shore, 
the  Indians  led  each  of  the  English  up  the  bank,  where  was  an  old  man, 
with  a  deer's  skin  spread  on  the  ground,  on  which  they  kneeled  before 
the  English,  who  also  kneeling,  the  Indians  wiped  the  water  off  the  faces 
of  the  English  with  their  hands. 

This  ceremony  being  ended,  each  of  the  sailors,  supported  by  two  of 
the  savages,  was  led  through  a  narrow  path,  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
in  length,  to  their  huts,  where  they  were  welcomed  by  the  music  of  a 
very  uncouth  instrument,  being  only  two  jagged  sticks,  which  an  Indian 
rubbed  across  each  other,  and  accompanied  the  noise  with  a  voice  still 
more  inharmonious  than  the  sound  of  the  instrument.  They  then  all  sat 
down  on  the  ground,  and  having  been  regaled  with  broiled  fish,  the  In- 
dians attended  them  back  in  the  same  manner  with  their  music  ;  presenting 
them  with  knives  made  of  shark's  teeth,  and  several  other  little  curiosi- 
ties, and  permitting  them  to  share  in  all  they  had,  except  their  women, 
children,  and  arms.  Above  200  people  inhabited  the  place  where  they 
landed,  and  lived  in  huts  made  of  boughs  of  trees,  and  leaves  erected  in 
the  form  of  bowers,  with  a  fire  before  the  door,  round  which  they  lay 
anJ  slept. 

The  men  are  straight,  well  built,  have  long  black  hair,  and  are  of  a 
dark  brown  complexion.  They  live  by  hunting  and  fishing,  and  have  a 
greater  esteem  for  European  scissors,  nails,  and  knives,  than  for  silver 
or  gold.  They  use  bows  and  arrows,  and  are  such  excellent  marksmen, 
as  to  be  able  to  shoot  a  small  bird  flying.  Their  bows  are  made  of  a  hard, 
yet  pliant  wood,  and  are  about  six  feet  in  length  ;  the  string  is  made  of 
silk  grass,  and  the  arrov/s,  which  are  four  feet  and  a  half  long,  are 
made  of  a  jointed  cane,  with  four  long  feathers  about  a  foot  from  the 
notch  for  the  string  :  at  the  other  end  is  fixed  a  piece  of  hard  wood,  point- 
ed with  a  sharp  taper  flint.     The  women,  whose  features  are  rather  disa. 

11* 


12G  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD- 

greeable,  are  employed  in  making  fishing  lines,  or  in  gathering  grain, 
which  ihey  grind  upon  a  stone.  They  were  willing  to  assist  the  English 
in  filling  water,  and  would  supply  them  with  whatever  they  could  get : 
they  were  a  very  honest  people,  and  would  not  take  the  least  thing  with- 
*  out  permission. 

In  the  Bay  of  Puerto  Seguro  there  are  great  numbers  of  albacores, 
mullets,  dolphins,  bream,  and  other  fish,  which  the  natives  are  extremely 
expert  at  striking  with  wooden  instruments  from  their  floats,  which  are 
made  of  five  pieces  of  wood,  and  are  moved  with  short  paddles.  From 
these  floats  they  would  often  leap,  and  strike  th^  fish  when  near  the 
bottom  of  the  water.  They  also  dive  and  fetch  up  pearl  oysters  from 
the  rocks.  Some  of  the  sailors  informed  Captain  Rogers  they  saw  one 
of  them  dive  with  instruments,  and  while  he  was  under  water,  put  up 
his  striker  with  a  fish  upon  the  point  of  it,  which  was  taken  oflf  by  ano- 
ther, who  attended  his  motions  on  a  bark-log.  This  the  captain  was  the 
rather  induced  to  believe,  because  he  himself  had  thrown  some  rusty 
knives  overboard  on  purpose  to  try  the  skill  of  these  excellent  divers  ;  and 
they  seldom  missed  catching  the  knife  before  it  was  more  than  three  or 
four  fathoms  under  water. 

By  this  time  they  all  began  to  despair  of  taking  the  Manilla  ship,  it 
being  a  month  beyond  her  usual  time  of  passing  that  way ;  till,  on  the 
21st  of  December,  aboiit  nine  in  the  morning,  the  man  at  the  mast-head 
cried  out  he  saw  a  sail,  at  the  distance  of  seven  leagues  ;  but,  as  they 
had  little  wind,  did  not  come  up  with  her  till  the  next  day,  when  Captain 
Rogers,  having  no  spirituous  liquors  on  board,  ordered  a  large  kettle  of 
chocolate  to  be  made  for  the  ship's  company,  and,  after  prayers,  began 
the  engagement.  The  Duchess  being  considerably  to  leeward,  the  ene- 
my fired  her  stern-chase  first,  which  the  Duke  returned  with  her  fore- 
chase  ;  and  then  getting  close  on  board  her,  gave  her  several  broadsides, 
at  the  same  time  plying  their  small  arms  very  briskly,  which  the  Spa- 
niards for  a  while  returned,  and  then  struck  her  colours  just  as  the 
Duchess  had  come  up,  and  fired  five  guns  and  a  volley  of  small  shot. 
They  then  sent  the  pinnace  on  board  the  enemy,  and  brought  the  captain, 
with  the  officers,  away  ;  having  examined  them,  found  that  a  larger  ship 
had  come  out  of  Manilla  at  the  same  time,  but  she  being  a  better  sailer, 
had  parted  company  three  months  before.  The  Spaniards  in  this  en- 
gagement lost  nine  men,  and  had  several  wounded.  On  the  part  of  the 
English,  one  man  was  Vvounded,  besides  Captain  Rogers,  who  received 
a  shot  through  the  left  cheek,  which  carried  away  a  great  part  of  his  up- 
per jaw  and  several  of  his  teeth,  some  of  which  dropped  on  the  deck 
where  he  feh.  This  prize  was  called  Nuestra  Senora  de  la  Incarnation, 
commanded  by  Sir  John  Pichberty,  a  gallant  Frenchman  ;  and  the  pri- 
soners said  that  the  cargo  in  India  amounted  to  3,000,000  of  dollars,  slffe 
carried  193  men,  and  mounted  twenty  guns. 

On  Christmas  day  the  Duches  sand  Marquis  went  out  of  the  harbour 
to  cruise  for  the  great  Manilla  ship  ;  and  on  the  same  day  two  sentinels 
were  posted  on  the  top  of  a  hill,  from  whence  they  had  a  good  view  of 
the  sea,  with  instructions  that  if  they  saw  three  sail  of  ships  in  the  off- 
ing, they  should  wave  their  colours  three  times.  On  the  26th,  in  the 
afternoon,  the  sentries  made  three  wafts,  on  which  they  instantly  put  all 
the  prisoners,  amounting  to  170,  on  board  the  bark,  without  arms,  rudder, 
sails,  or  a  boat ;  and  leaving  twenty-two  hands  to  guard  them,  Captain 
Rogers,  who  was  still  in  a  very  weak  condition,  got  under  sail  at  seven 
in  the  evening,  and  continued  the  chase  all  night  and  next  day ;  but  ha 


WOODES  ROGERS.  137 

ving  little  wind,  did  not  come  up  with  them  till  the  day  after  ;  and,  as  the 
other  sliips  had  engaged  the  enemy  several  times  in  the  interim,  the 
Marquis  was  by  this  time  disabled.  He,  however,  instantly  engaged,  and 
the  attack  was  frequently  renewed,  till  a  chest  of  arms  and  cartoach  box 
took  fire,  and  all  the  three  ships  were  damaged  :  when.it  was  determined, 
considering  the  number  of  the  enemy's  men  and  the  force  of  the  ship, 
to  pursue  her  no  farther.  In  this  bloody  engagement  the  English  lost 
many  of  their  men,  and  Captain  Rogers  was  again  wounded,  having  the 
heel-bone  of  his  left  foot  taken  off  by  a  splinter.  Thus  ended  the  fruit- 
less attempt  on  this  large  ship  ;  after  which  they  returned  to  the  harbour 
of  Puerto  Seguro,  spending  some  days  in  refitting  and  taking  in  wood 
and  water.  For  some  time  past,  they  had  been  at  short  allowance  of 
bread,  but  had  the  happiness  to  find  such  a  quantity  on  board  the  Manilla 
ship,  which  they  had  taken,  as,  with  their  former  stock,  they  hoped  would 
serve  them  in  the  long  run  which  they  intended  to  take  across  the  South 
Sea.  On  the  1st  of  January,  the  bark,  with  Captain  Pichberty,  the  hos- 
tages, <S6C.,  being  well  supplied  with  a  stock  of  provisions  and  water, 
sailed  from  Puerto  Seguro  ;  and  Pichberty,  together  with  his  officers  and 
chaplain,  acknowledged,  with  the  utmost  gratitude,  the  civility  shown 
them,  in  having  all  their  books,  clothes,  and  instruments  restored. 

A  few  days  afterward,  a  committee  of  officers  was  held,  in  which  the 
majority  appointed  Captain  Dover  to  the  command  of  the  prize,  which 
was  named  the  Batchelor  frigate ;  but  against  this  nomination,  Captain 
Rogers,  v/ho  had  a  very  indifferent  opinion  of  Mr.  Dover's  abilities  as  a 
sea-officer,  entered  a  solemn  protest,  which  was  also  subscribed  by  the 
principal  officers  on  board  the  Duke.  To  prevent,  however,  the  incon- 
veniences that  might  arise  from  heart-burnings  and  the  encouragement 
of  disputes  among  each  other,  a  new  committee  was  appointed  to  be  held, 
wherein  it  was  determined  that  Captain  Dover  should  be  considered  as 
chief  captain  on  board  the  prize,  but  without  any  power  with  regard  to 
sailing,  engaging,  or  other  affairs  immediately  respecting  the  ship  ;  thfi 
care  of  which  was  committed  to  Mr.  Fry  and  Mr.  Stratton  ;  while  Do- 
ver was  to  see  that  nothing  was  done  contrary  to  the  interest  of  the 
owners.  It  was  now  determined  that,  as  their  business  in  those  seas 
was  pretty  well  at  an  end,  they  should  prepare  to  sail  for  the  East  Indies. 
In  case  of  separation,  the  place  of  rendezvous  should  be  Guam,  one  of 
the  Ladrone  islands. 

They  weighed  from  the  Port  of  Seguro  on  the  10th  of  January,  but 
were  becalmed  under  the  shore  till  the  12th,  in  the  afternoon,  when  a 
breeze  sprung  up,  which  ran  them  out  of  sight  of  land. 

On  the  lOlh  of^  March,  made  the  Islands  of  Serpana  and  Guam,  and 
anchored  near  the  latter  in  twelve  fathoms  water,  the  natives  continually 
passing  them  in  their  proas,  with  astonishing  swiftness,  but  none  would, 
on  any  account,  be  prevailed  upon  to  come  on  board.  As  there  was  now  an 
>absolute  necessity  for  procuring  a  supply  of  provisions  to  prevent  them 
from  starving,  not  having,  at  the  shortest  allowance,  bread  and  flour  suffi- 
cient for  fourteen  days,  they  determined,  if  possible,  to  get  some  of  the 
inhabitants  on  board  and  detain  them  as  hostages,  in  case  they  should 
be  under  tke  necessity  of  sending  any  of  their  people  to  the  governor. 
In  consequence  of  this  resolution,  they  seized  two  Spaniards,  who  hailed 
them,  and  came  on  board,  on  a  supposition  that  the  English  came  from 
New  Spain.  They  detained  one  of  these  by  way  of  hostage,  and  sent 
two  linguists  ashore  with  the  other,  who  carried  a  letter  to  the  governor 
pf  the  place,  in  which  they  demanded  liberty  to  deal,  in  a  peaceable  man- 


128  VOYAOESf  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

ner,  for  provisions  and  refreshments,  for  which  they  promised  not  only 
to  pay  immediately,  but  to  behave  in  all  other  respects  in  a  friendly  man- 
ner ;  and  threatened,  if  the  request  was  refused,  they  would  act  openly 
as  enemies,  a  proceeding  which,  however,  they  wished  rather  to  avoid. 

On  the  11th,  in  the  morning,  the  Duke's  pinnace  was  sent  on  shore 
with  a  flag  of  truce  ;  and  the  islanders  behaved  with  the  utmost  friend- 
ship to  the  crew,  promising  to  supply  them  plentifully  with  provisions, 
provided  the  governor  would  give  permission.  About  noon  a  letter  was 
brought  on  board  by  the  linguists,  accompanied  by  three  Spanish  gentle- 
men, in  which  the  governor  obligingly  promised  to  accommodate  them 
with  whatever  the  island  produced.  A  suitable  answer  to  this  obliging 
letter  was  immediately  sent  to  his  excellency,  signed  by  all  the  captains, 
expressing  their  own  thanks  and  those  of  the  crews  foar  hi&  polite  and 
friendly  oifer.  On  the  13th,  each  ship  was  supplied  with  a  bullock,  be- 
sides limes,  oranges,  cocoa  nuts,  and  other  fruits  ;  and  an  entertainment 
provided  on  board  the  Batchelor  for  several  Spanish  gentlemen,  at  which 
all  the  officers  of  the  several  ships  were  present,  not  excepting  Captain 
tain  Rogers,  who  was  unable  to  go  on  board  without  being  hoisted  up  and 
down  in  a  chair.  On  the  morning  of  the  16th,  several  of  the  officers 
went  in  the  pinnace,  to  dine  with  the  governor  on  shore,  agreeable  to  in- 
vitation. On  their  landing,  they  were  received  by  200  men  drawn  up  in 
order,  while  the  clergy  and  other  principal  people  of  the  island  attended 
to  conduct  them  to  the  governor's  house,  which,  considering  its  situation^ 
is  a  very  noble  building.  They  were  here  treated  with  the  utmost  friend- 
ship and  respect,  treated  with  at  least  sixty  different  dishes,  and,  when 
they  departed,  were  saluted  with  a  volley  of  small  arms.  In  return  for 
these  civilities,  they  made  the  governor  a  present  of  twenty  yards  of  scar- 
let serge,  six  pieces  of  cambric,  and  two  negro  boys,  dressed  in  liveries. 

The  Island  of  Guam  is  about  forty  leagues  in  circumference  ;  the 
anchoring  place  is  on  the  west  side,  and  about  the  middle  there  is^  a  hrge 
cove,  with  several  houses,  built  in  the  Spanish  fashion,  with  accommo- 
dations for  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  Acapulco  ship ;  the  settlement 
here  having  been  made  on  purpose  for  that  ship  to  refresh,  and  take  in 
necessaries  in  her  passage  to  Manilla.  On  this,  and  the  neighbouring 
islands,  are  about  300  Spaniards,  who  have  converted  most  of  the  na- 
tives to  the  Roman  Catholic  religion.  There  were  at  this  time  eight 
priests,  six  of  whom  kept  schools,  besides  performing  their  offices  as 
clergymen.  T"hey  had  schools  also  taught  by  mulattoes  and  Indians, 
who  had  attained  to  a  knowledge  af  the  Spanish  language,  which  is  un- 
derstood by  most  of  the  natives.  The  island,  which  is  full  of  hills,  val- 
leys, and  streams  of  good  water,  produces  oranges,  lemons,  citrons, 
muskmelons,  and  watermelons,  which  were  originally  brought  thither  by 
the  Spaniards,  besides  the  bread  fruit,  the  cocoa  nut,  and  other  fruits 
natural  to  the  soil  and  climate.  Of  the  exotics,  oranges  in  particular 
thrive  vory  well. 

The  native  Indians  are  strong  and  tall,  and  go  naked,  except  a  kind 
of  clout  worn  by  the  men,  and  a  shoit  petticoat  by  the  women,  round 
their  middle.  The  men  burn  small  lumps  of  clay,  of  an  oval  form,  till 
they  are  as  hard  as  marble,  which  they  are  extremely  dexterous  at  sling- 
ing ;  and  the  Spaniards  say,  that  they  seldom  miss  hitting  a  mark,  and 
throw  with  such  force  as  to  kill  a  man  at  a  considerble  distance.  The 
most  remarkable  thing  on  the  island  is  the  bread  fruit,  which  resembles 
an  orange,  and  when  ripe  is  about  three  times  as  big.  The  leaves  are 
of  a  brown  CQlour,  about  as  large,  and  not  unlike  thQse  of  the  fig  tre^. 


WOODES  ROGERS.  129 

The  people  have  no  other  weapons  but  a  stick  or  lance,  which  is  made 
of  the  heaviest  wood  that  grows  on  the  island.  The  governor  made 
Captain  Rogers  a  present  of  one  of  their  flying  proas,  which  the  Spa- 
niards said  would  run  twenty  leagues  in  an  hour  ;  this  account  was  pro- 
bably exaggerated,  but  Captain  Rogers  says,  that  from  what  he  saw,  they 
may  run  twenty  miles  or  more  in  that  space  of  time  ;  for  when  the  na- 
tives came  in  these  vessels  to  take  a  view  of  the  ships,  they  passed  by 
thfim  like  a  bird  flying.  t 

They  got  under  sail  from  Guam  on  the  2lst  of  March,  having  first  ta- 
ken in  plenty  of  wood  and  water,  and  each  ship  received  its  proportion 
of  provisions,  which,  in  that  commanded  by  Captain  Rogers,  amounted 
to  sixty  hogs,  fourteen  small  bullocks,  ninety-nine  fowls,  twenty-four 
baskets  of  Indian  corn,  forty-four  baskets  of  yams,  fourteen  bags  of  rice, 
and  800  cocoa  nuts.  On  the  14th  of  April,  being  in  23  degrees  north 
latitude,  they  came  so  near  to  three  water  spouts,  that  one  of  them  had 
like  to  have  broke  over  the  Marquis  ;  but  it  was  happily  dispersed  by 
two  shots  from  the  Duchess.  Soon  afterward  the  Marquis  and  the 
Batchelor  received  considerable  damage  in  their  rigging  by  a  violent 
storm,  which  lasted  four  or  five  days  ;  and  these  vessels  being  both  but 
indifferent  sailers,  were  a  considerable  hindrance  to  the  voyage,  which 
was  rendered  very  fatiguing  to  the  crew  of  the  Duke,  who  were  con- 
tinually obliged  to  ply  their  pumps,  on  account  of  having  sprung  a  leak, 
which  at  present  they  had  no  opportunity  of  stopping.  Having  coasted 
for  several  days  along  the  high-lands  of  New  Guinea,  they,  on  the  25th 
of  May,  made  Bouton,  to  whiclu  island  the  Duke  and  Duchess  imme- 
diately sent  their  pinnaces,  which  soon  returned  with  plenty  of  cocoa 
nuts,  and  reported  the  inhabitants,  who  spoke  the  Malayan  tongue,  were 
civil  and  hospitable.  At  this  ticne  they  endeavoured  in  vain  to  find 
ground  proper  to  anchor  in,  though  the  Duke  sounded  with  a  line  of 
eighty  fathoms,  and  run  her  bowdprit  almost  on  shore.  In  the  interim 
the  inhabitants  came  off  in  canoes,  bringing  with  them  fowls,  Indian 
corn,  cocoa  nuts,  pompions,  &c.,  which  they  exchanged  for  goods  with 
the  sailors.  Captain  Rogers  sent  some  of  the  officers  in  the  yawl  and 
pinnace  to  land,  where  the  king  and  his  nobility  received  them  in  a  very 
hospitable  manner,  and  promised  they  should  be  supplied  with  such  neces- 
Karies  as  the  place  aflforded.  His  majesty  and  all  his  attendants  were 
bare-footed,  and  had  no  other  covering  than  a  cloth  wrapped  round  the 
middle. 

After  sounding  for  three  or  four  days,  as  they  cruised  round  the  head 
lands,  they  at  length  got  anchoring  ground  in  between  thirty  and  forty 
fathoms  water,  and  the  Duke  and  Duchess  came  to  their  moorings.  About 
this  time  the  Duke's  boat,  which  had  been  sent  on  shore,  returned  with 
some  Malays  in  a  canoe,  who,  by  presents,  had  been  prevailed  upon  to 
come  on  board  ;  but  these  people  were  of  no  use,  there  being  no  person 
on  board  who  could  understand  them  ;  and  Captain  Dover,  who  had  a 
linguist,  refused  to  lend  him,  notwithstanding  the  evident  necessity  of 
the  case.  Neither  would  the  Malays  be  prevailed  upon  to  go  on  board 
the  Batchelor,  she  being  in  danger  of  running  on  the  shoals,  though  Cap 
tain  Rogers  treate  I  them  with  sweetmeats  ;  but,  on  their  quitting  the 
Duke,  they  made  signs,  pointing  to  the  land  which  lay  to  the  northward, 
which  they  called  Bootoo.  Captain  Dampier  having  formerly  been  through 
the  straits  of  Bouton,  was  examined  respecting  his  knowledge  of  the 
place,  but  he  seemed  to  remember  very  little  of  it.  However,  on  the 
29th  of  May  it  was  agreed  to  send  him,  together  with  Mr.  Vanburgb, 


130  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD 

Mr.  Connelly,  and  the  linguist,  by  way  of  deputation  to  the  king,  de- 
siring a  supply  of  provisions,  for  which  they  v/ould  very  readily  pay.  His 
majesty  received  these  gentlemen  in  a  courteous  manner,  and  seemed 
pleased  with  the  samples  shown  him  of  such  goods  as  they  chose  to  ex- 
change for  provisions  ;  and  was  exceedingly  delighted  with  a  bishop's 
miire,  sent  him  as  a  present.  The  inhabitants  now  began  to  flock  on 
board,  bringing  fowls,  Indian  corn,  and  cocoa  nuts,  to  exchange  with  the 
English,  but  they  demanded  too  high  a  price  for  them. 

On  the  1st  of  June  Dampier  returned  from  the  town  in  the  pinnace, 
bringing  a  mysterious  account  of  the  proceedings  on  shore,  and  a  small 
quantity  of  provisions,  as  a  present  to  the  captains ;  but  the  two  other 
-officers  remained  behind,  to  despatch  what  they  could  agree  for.  Several 
of  the  inhabitants,  with  a  Portuguese  linguist,  came  from  the  town  next 
day,  under  pretence  of  looking  at  the  goods  and  carrying  samples  to  the 
king ;  but  Captain  Rogers  and  the  rest  of  the  gentlemen  began  to  be 
afraid,  by  their  thus  trifling,  that  they  should  get  nothing  of  them  at  last ; 
and,  therefore,  sent  the  Duchess's  pinnace  to  hurry  away  the  officers  as  fast 
as  possible,  with  what  provisions  they  had  got.  The  country  ptcple  bad 
pretty  well  supplied  them  by  the  4th,  and,  therefore,  they  were  determined 
to  waste  no  more  time  in  that  place,  but  sail  immediately  for  Batavia. 

On  the  5th  Mr.  Connelly  returned  in  the  pinnace,  and  informed  them 
the  king  wished  to  compel  them  to  take  a  quantity  of  provisions  at  an 
exorbitant  price,  and  meant  to  detain  Mr.  Vanburgh  till  the  money  was 
paid.  The  same  day  several  of  the  nobility  came  on  board  with  four 
lasts  of  rice  and  a  cask  of  arrack,  which  was  immediately  agreed  for. 
As  soon  as  they  were  departed,  the  Portuguese  linguist  came  to  dispose 
of  some  provisions  of  his  own  ;  but  as  he  brought  no  news  of  the  English 
on  shore,  a  suspicion  began  to  arise  that  some  mischief  was  intended  ; 
and,  therefore,  determined  to  keep  him  till  the  boat  returned.  They  the 
rather  chose  to  fix  on  him,  as  he  was  of  such  use  to  the  king  in  all  com- 
mercial matters  that  he  could  not  possibly  be  spared  ;  but  the  Portuguese, 
being  apprehensive  of  their  design,  got  out  of  the  ship  into  his  own  canoe, 
rowing  away  as  fast  as  possible,  till  overtaken  by  the  yawl.  On  this  all 
the  people  who  worked  in  the  canoe  jumped  into  the  sea,  but  were  taken 
np  by  the  Duchess's  pinnace,  and  the  linguist  was  once  more  brought  on 
board,  where,  finding  himself  likely  to  be  detained,  he  despatched  his 
eanoe  to  the  king,  desiring  that  the  English  might  be  immediately  dis- 
missed. Upon  this,  Mr.  Vanburgh  and  the  sailors  with  him  came  on 
board  on  the  7th,  having  parted  with  the  king  in  a  very  friendly  manner  ; 
but  he  could  not  prevail  upon  his  majesty  to  furnish  them  with  a  pilot 
to  conduct  them  through  the  straits,  at  any  rate.  On  Mr.  Vanburgh's 
coming  on  board  the  linguist  was  immediately  dismissed. 

The  Island  of  Bouton  is  near  thirty  leagues  in  length,  and  is  situated 
in  5  degrees  ^0  minutes  south  latitude.  The  inhabitants  say,  that  all 
the  adjacent  islands  are  subject  to  their  king,  who  can  raise  50,000  men. 
They  are  well  made  people,  of  the  middle  size,  have  very  indifferent 
features,  and  a  dark  olive  complexion.  They  speak  the  Malay  language, 
and  profess  the  Mahometan  religion,  of  which,  however,  they  know  very 
little,  except  bathing,  abstaining  from  swine's  flesh,  and  having  a  number 
of  wives.  The  only  spice  produced  on  this  island  is  a  few  nutmegs  ; 
and  the  inhabitants  are  not  afraid  of  the  Dutch,  against  who.m  their  po- 
verty is  a  sufficient  security. 

They  weighed  anchor  from  the  Island  of  Bouton  on  the  8th  of  J'jne, 
and  the  next  day  came  up  with  a  vessel  bound  for  Macassar,  a  Dutch 


WOODES  ROGERS.  131 

settlement  on  the  south  part  of  Celebes.  The  master,  who  was  a  Malay, 
promised  to  pilot  them  not  only  through  the  straits,  but  even  to  Batavia, 
for  a  small  gratuity,  provided  it  was  kept  secret  from  the  Dutch  ;  and  the 
captain  readily  agreed  lo  his  demands,  this  being  a  happy  incident  in  their 
favour,  as  thereby  they  avoided  several  dangerous  shoals,  the  shunning 
of  which  properly  is  best  known  to  the  Holland  traders.  On  the  17th, 
hailed  a  Dutch  ship,  of  600  tons,  and  fifty  guns,  by  whom  they  were  in- 
formed that  Prince  George  of  Denmark  was  dead,  and  that  the  powers 
of  Europe  were  still  at  war.  On  the  20th,  entered  the  road  of  Batavia, 
and  came  to  an  anchor  in  about  six  fathoms  water,  among  upward  of  thirty 
sail  of  ships.  Two  days  afterward  the  captains  waited  on  the  governor, 
who,  having  examined  and  approved  of  their  commission  as  private  ships- 
of-war,  promised  them  all  possible  assistance,  but  was  not  over  scrupulous 
in  keeping  his-  word ;  for  it  was  a  considerable  time  before  they  could 
obtain  leave  to  careen  their  vessels  ;  but,  at  length,  on  the  23d  of  July, 
they  hove-down  upon  Horn  Island.  They  were  obliged  to  buy  provisions 
at  most  extravagant  prices,  and  though  having  an  audience  with  the  go- 
vernor was  unnecessary  on  several  occasions,  they  could  never  obtain  it 
without  bribing  his  guards  and  secretary,  nor  was  it  always  that  even  this 
method  was  efficacious.  Indeed,  this  is  the  case  at  almost  all  the  Dutch 
settlements,  where  the  chief  people  treat  the  captains  of  the  English 
ships  as  enemies,  while  they  receive  them  with  all  the  outward  appear- 
ance of  friendship. 

Horn  Island  being  a  very  inconvenient  place  to  careen  at,  the  com- 
manders petitioned  the  governor  for  leave  to  perform  that  business  at 
Unherst,  which  is  the  place  where  the  Dutch  careen  their  vessels ;  but 
this  was  a  favour  they  could  not  on  any  terms  obtain,  nor  even  the  as- 
sistance of  the  Dutch  carpenters  ;  so  that  they  were  compelled  to  employ- 
eight  or  ten  Malay  carpenters.  That  the  government  might  complete 
their  oppressive  measures,  they  absolutely  forbade  any  of  the  people  to  pur- 
chase the  Marquis,  which  the  captains  had  agreed  to  sell ;  so  that  they 
were  obliged  to  part  with  her  to  the  first  English  bidder,  who  happened 
to  be  Captain  Opey,  of  the  Oley  frigate,  from  London,  who  bought  her 
at  the  low  price  of  575  Dutch  dollars.  Durmg  this  stay  at  Batavia, 
Captain  Rogers,  who  recovered  his  health  but  very  slowly,  had  a  musket 
shot  cut  out  of  his  cheek,  which  the  surgeon  had  hitherto  mistaken  for 
a  piece  of  his  broken  jaw,  and  had  also  several  splinters  extracted  from 
his  heel.  Several  of  the  men  were  here  carried  off  by  tiuxes,  which  the 
water  of  this  island  is  apt  to  occasion  ;  and  yet  they  took  care  to  correct 
its  ill  qualities  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  arrack  and  sugar,  the  last 
article  of  which  they  purchase  at  one  penny  per  pound,  and  the  other  at 
eight  pence  the  gallon.  The  officers  and  men  having  supplied  themselves 
with  such  necessaries  as  they  wanted,  and  a  proper  stock  of  provisions 
being  laid  in,  they  left  Batavia  on  the  12th  of  October,  and  sailed  for  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

On  the  17th,  having  taken  in  wood  and  water  at  Java  Head,  within 
Prince's  Island,  they  proceeded  on  their  voyage,  and  came  to  an  anchor 
in  the  cape  harbour  on  the  28th  orf  December.  The  English  saluted  the 
Dutch  fort  with  nine  guns  ;  which  compliment  was  returned  with  seven. 
At  this  place  they  waited  for  the  convoy  of  the  Dutch  fleet  to  Europe 
till  the  begmning  of  April,  and  though  Captaui  Rogers  strongly  opposed 
tnis  delay,  a  majority  of  the  committee  of  officers  carried  it  against  him. 
On  the  5th  of  April  the  Dutch  admiral  hoisted  a  blue  flag,  and  loosed 
his  fore-topsail,  as  a  signal  to  unmoor  ;  and  the  next  day  the  whole  fleet, 


132  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLP. 

consisting  of  sixteen  Dutch  and  nine  English  ships,  sailed  with  a  fresh 
breeze  at  south-south-east.  Captain  Rogers  remarks,  that  during  the 
whole  voyage  from  the  eape  to  Holland,  the  most  exact  discipline  was 
observed  by  the  fleet,  and  the  utmost  respect  paid  to  the  admiral,  though 
he  only  commanded  a  trading  vessel,  which  had  been  to  the  East  Indies 
on  the  Dutch  East  India  con^ipany's  account.  This  admiral  is  represented 
as  a  man  of  great  abilities  and  good  nature,  and  particularly  .respectful  to 
the  English,  frequently  entertaining  the  captains  on  board  his  own  ship. 
On  the  23d  of  July  they  arrived  in  the  Texel,  on  which  the  Dutch  fired 
all  their  guns,  and  the  English  complimented  the  admiral  with  several 
rounds  of  cannon.  In  the  afternoon  of  the  24th,  Captain  Rogers  went  up 
to  Amsterdam  to  buy  provisions  for  the  ship,  and  transact  other  necessary 
business.  They  sailed  from  the  Texel  on  the  22d  of  September,  and  on 
the  2d  of  October,  1711,  came  to  the  moorings  in  the  Downs,  where  some 
of  their  owners  came  on  board  to  congratulate  them  on  their  safe  arrival. 


CAPTAIN  JOHN  CLIPPERTON.— 1719-22. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  year  1718,  some  English  merchants,  fore- 
seeing it  could  not  be  long  before  there  would  be  war  between  England 
and  Spain,  resolved  to  fit  out  two  ships  for  the  South  Seas,  in  hopes  they 
might  make  as  successful  a  voyage  as  the  Duke  and  Duchess,  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Rogers.  Two  ships  were  accordingly  provided, 
one  called  the  Success,  the  other  the  Speedwell.  The  command  of  the 
former  was  given  to  Captain  Clipperton,  who  had  been  with  Dampicr  ; 
and  Captain  Shelvock,  formerly  lieutenant  in  the  royal  navy,  was  ap}>ointed 
to  command  the  latter,  having  under  him,  as  second  captain,  Mr.  Simon 
Hatley,  the  same  person  whom  Captain  Woodes  Rogers  lost  among  the 
Gallapagos  islands,  and  who  was  a  prisoner  among  the  Spaniards  for  a 
considerable  time  afterward.  The  instructions  the  captains  received  were, 
to  proceeds  immediately  to  Plymouth,  and  to  sail  thence  with  the  first 
fair  wind  for  Cape  Horn,  or  the  straits  of  Magellan,  and  then,  either  to 
double  the  cape,  or  pass  through  the  straits,  as  should  be  most  conve- 
nient. After  this,  to  sail  into  the  South  Seas,  cruise  on  the  coast  of 
Chili,  Peru,  and  Mexico,  and  endeavour  to  meet  the  Acapulco  ship.  To 
be  careful,  above  all  things,  not  to  seperale  from  each  other  ;  to  under- 
take nothing  of  importance  without  holding  a  council  of  officers,  stating 
the  question  in  writing  that  was  to  be  debated,  drawing  up  the  resolution, 
with  the  reasons  upon  which  it  was  grounded,  in  concise  terms,  and 
obliging  every  officer  present  to  sign  it.  They  were  also  to  call  a  council 
in  the  same  manner,  as  soon  as  possible,  after  any  action  had  happened, 
or  any  prize  of  consequence  taken,  in  which  the  conduct  of  the  officers 
concerned  might  be  examined,  and  a  true  judgment  of  it  immediately 
passed,  which  was  to  be  subscribed  by  the  persons  assisting  at  the  council. 

At  length,  on  the  13th  of  February,  1719,  they  sailed  from  Plymouth 
with  a  fair  wind,  but  the  whole  stock  of  wine,  brandy,  and  other  liquors, 
for  the  use  of  both  ships,  was  still  on  board  the  Speedwell ;  and  how  fatal 
a  mistake  it  was  not  to  divide  it  before  this  lime  will  soon  appear.  On 
the  15i,h,  had  squally  weather  with  rain  ;  in  the  evening,  unbent  the  best 
and  small  bowers  in  the  Success,  stowed  their  anchors,  and  found  them- 
selves often  obliged  to  shorten  sail  for  the  Speedwell.  Captain  Shelvock 
came  this  day  under  the  lee  of  the  Success,  and  complained  to  Captain 
Chpperton  of  the  crankness  of  his  ship,  which  proceeded  from  having 


JOHN  CLIPPERTON.  133 

too  much  weight  aloft ;  and,  therefore,  desired  him  to  send  for  his  wine 
and  brandy,  which  would  give  him  an  opportunity  of  striking  down  some 
of  his  guns  into  the  hold.  This  was  not  done,  which,  if  it  is  a  proof  of 
Captain  Clippcrton's  negligence,  is  also  a  proof  he  had  no  suspicion  of 
Shelvock's  leaving  him,  and  that,  on  his  part,  he  had  no  intention  to  de- 
sert the  Speedwell. 

Between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  at  night,  on  the  19th,  there  arose  a  fresh 
breeze,  so  as  to  oblige  both  ships  to  take  in  their  topsails.  The  gale 
increasing,  the  Success  made  a  signal  for  the  Speedwell  to  bring-to,  which 
Shelvock  readily  obeyed,  and  by  seven  o'clock  both  ships  were  under  bare 
poles,  nor  able  to  bear  a  rag  of  canvass  during  the  night.  On  the  20th, 
about  two  in  the  afternoon,  the  storm  abated,  when  Clipperton  made  sail, 
steering  south  and  by  east,  whereas  Shelvock  stood  away  to  the  north- 
west, so  that  from  this  day  they  never  saw  each  other  till  they  met  by 
accident  in  the  South  Seas.  Here,  then,  properly  begins  the  history  of 
the  former's  voyage  round  the  world  in  the  Success. 

The  Canaries  being  the  first  place  appointed  for  a  rendezvous,  he 
sailed  thither  with  such  expedition  as  to  arrive  on  the  5th  of  March,  and 
having  taken  on  board  refreshments,  continued,  agreeable  to  his  instruc- 
tions, to  cruise  in  that  station  fOr  ten  days,  in  hopes  of  seeing  his  con- 
sort. Being  disappointed,  he  determined  to  continue  his  voyage,  lest  he 
should  miss  her  at  the  next  place  of  reridezvous,  which  was  the  Cape  de 
Verde  islands,  and  accordingly  left  Gomera  on  the  15th,  in  order  to  be 
early  at  his  ne.'it  station. 

On  the  21st,  in  the  evening,  they  saw  St.  Vincent,  one  of  the  Cape 
de  Verdes,  and  next  morning  anchored  in  the  bay.  They  remained  here 
ten  days,  in  hopes  of  meeting  their  consort,  but  in  vain,  which  so  dis- 
couraged the  crew,  that  Captain  Clipperton  found  it  no  easy  matter  to 
engage  them  to  continue  the  voyage.  These  islands,  which  the  Dutch 
call  the  Salt  islands,  from  the  great  quantities  of  it  found  there,  were 
discovered  by  the  Portuguese  in  the  year  1572.  They  are  ten  in  number, 
viz  ,  St.  Jago,  St.  Lucia,  St.  Vincent,  St.  Antonio,  St.  Nicholas,  Blanca, 
De  Sal,  Maio,  De  Fogo,  arrd  Bonavista.  They  extend  from  the  Green 
Cape  160  leagues  into  the  sea. 

On  the  29th  of  May,  found  themselves  in  52  degrees  15  minutes  south 
latitude,  being  off  Cape  Virgin  Mary,  the  north  point  of  the  entrance  of 
the  straits  of  Magellan  ;  and  the  next  day  entered  the  straits,  and  sail- 
ing up  as  far  as  Queen  Elizabeth's  Island,  sent  their  pinnace  on  shore 
to  a  fresh  water  river,  which  was  at  this  time  frozen  up.  On  the  22d, 
atichored  in  a  fine  bay,  which,  from  its  depth,  they  called  No-Bottom 
Bay  :  the  trees  on  the  shore  of  which  were  very  high,  and  so  loaded 
with  snow  as  to  atford  an  astonishing  prospect. 

A  canoe  came  otT  on  the  29th,  with  two  men,  a  woman,  and  a  boy  ; 
they  were  of  a  middle  stature  and  dark  complexions  ;  their  faces  round, 
their  foreheads  low,  their  hair  black,  straight,  and  short ;  and  they  had 
no  clothing  except  a  piece  of  skin  about  the  waist.  They  had  a  remark- 
able fine  streak,  of  a  bright  blue  colour,  round  their  wrists  ;  and  the  men 
were  so  extremely  jealous,  that  they  could  by  no  means  be  prevailed  on 
to  let  the  women  go  on  board.  They  brought  wild  geese  and  ducks, 
wiiich  were  e.xchangeJ  for  knives,  and  had  a  fire  in  the  middle  of  their 
canoe,  the  latter  being  built  of  the  bark  of  trees  sewed  together.  They 
bad  also  with  them  bows  and  arrows,  and  implements  for  fishing. 

Or)  the  20th  of  July  some  persons  were  sent  in  the  pinnace,  in  order 
to  make  a  discovery  of  a  passage  which  a  French  Tartan  is  said  to  have 


134  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

went  through  into  the  South  Sea,  in  May,  1713  ;  they  returned  on  the 
29th,  having  found  the  passage,  but  so  narrow  it  was  judged  hazardous 
to  attempt  going  that  way.  On  the  morning  of  the  1st  of  August,  four 
officers  went  to  look  for  this  passage  a  second  time.  After  the  strictest 
examination,  they  could  not  find  that  it  led  into  the  South  Seas ;  and, 
even  it  it  had,  the  passage  was  so  contracted  that  the  ship  could  not 
have  gone  through  it.  They,  therefore,  resolved  to  prosecute  their  voy- 
age through  the  straits,  which,  with  much  danger  and  difficulty,  they  at 
length  accomplished,  being  all  the  way  at  short  allowance. 

They  arrived  in  the  South  Seas  on  the  18th  of  August,  but  in  so  weak 
a  condition  that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  undertake  anything  of 
consequence  ;  besides.  Captain  Clipperton  was  resolved,  in  pursuance  to 
his  instructions,  to  steer  for  the  Island  of  Juan  Fernandez,  the  third  and 
last  place  appointed  for  a  rendezvous.  Here  they  cast  anchor  on  the  7th 
of  -September,  and  sent  persons  on  shore  to  search  for  some  testimony 
of  the  Speedwell's  having  been  there,  but  met  with  no  success.  Cap- 
tain Clipperton,  therefore,  ordered  an  inscription  to  be  cut  on  a  remark- 
able tree,  fronting  the  landing  place  ;  so  that  it  was  impossible  for  any 
ship's  crew  to  go  on  shore  and  not  see  it.  The  inscription  ran  thus  : 
"  Captain  John W.  Magee,  1719."  This  William  Magee  was  sur- 
geon on  board  the  Success,  and  was  a  person  extremely  well  known  to 
Captain  Shelvock  and  all  his  ship's  company. 

They  took  a  great  number  of  goats  here,  which  not  only  served  for 
present  eating,  but  likewise  to  increase  their  sea-store,  having  an  oppor- 
tunity of  salting  them  from  some  French  vessels  which  had  lately  touch- 
ed at  the  island,  leaving  a  considerable  quantity  of  salt,  which  they  had 
made  there,  behind.  They  also  took  in  wood  and  water,  and  repaired 
their  ship  for  a  cruise  in  the  South  Seas,  where  it  v/as  now  apparent  they 
were  to  act  alone,  and  Captain  Clipperton  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the 
Speedwell  was  lost ;  which,  if  not  his  real  sentiments,  he  said  so  to  pa- 
cify the  sailors,  some  of  whom,  with  their  dying  breaths,  cursed  Shelvock 
for  running  away  with  their  liquors.  The  beauty  and  fertility  of  this 
island,  compared  with  the  difficulties  they  expected  to  encounter  in  the 
South  Seas,  tempted  four  of  the  men  to  run  away  from  the  ship  and  fly 
to  the  mountains.  As  they  were  in  want  of  hands,  and  as  it  would  have 
been  inhuman  to  leave  them  behind,  the  captain  gave  orders  to  make 
diligent  search  for  them,  but  for  some  time  without  effect. 

At  length,  the  day  before  the  ship  was  to  leave  the  island,  some  of  the 
officers  went  in  the  pinnace  to  look  for  these  men,  who  had  now  been 
absent  a  fortnight ;  and  sailing  round  to  the  east  part  of  the  island,  found 
two  in  custody  of  the  goat  hunters,  who  had  met  with  them  while  in  the 
pursuii  of  their  game  ;  and  who  affirmed,  that  they  had  more  difficulty 
in  securing  these  fellows,  than  in  killing  double  the  number  of  goats, 
having  been  obliged  to  fire  several  times  before  they  would  surrender. 
The  prisoners  said,  that  for  the  first  five  days  they  were  hard  put  to  it, 
being  obliged  to  subsist  wholly  on  the  cabbage  trees,  with  which  the 
island  abounds;  but  having  one  night,  by  good  fortune,  discovered  a  fire 
left  by  the  hunters,  they  dressed  some  meat  by  it,  and  ate  plentifully. 
All  the  rest  being  on  board  and  mustered,  they  prepared  to  sail  on  the 
7th  of  October  ;  in  the  meantime,  a  person  went  on  shore  in  the  long- 
boat to  erect  a  cross,  which  had  been  already  cut  for  that  purpose.  At 
the  foot  of  the  cross  a  bottle  was  buried,  in  which  was  a  letter  directed 
for  Captain  Shelvock,  appointing  another  place  of  rendezvous,  and  some 
signal  by  which  they  should  know  each  other  at  sea. 


JOHN  CLIPPERTON.  135 

On  the  8th  of  October,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  weighed  from 
the  Island  of  Juan  Fernandez,  leaving  behind  two  of  the  deserters,  whom 
they  had  not  been  able  to  find.  On  the  25th  of  October,  chased  a  small 
vessel,  which  they  soon  came  up  with  and  took  ;  she  proved,  however, 
a  very  indifferent  prize,  being  a  snow  of  forty  tons  burthen,  laden  with 
sand  and  rubbish  for  manure  ;  but  next  day  they  met  with  a  better  prize 
in  a  ship  called  the  St.  Vincent,  of  150  tons,  laden  with  wood,  from 
Gnaquil.  On  the  30th,  took  a  large  ship  bound  from  Panama  to  Lima, 
called  the  Trinity,  burthen  400  tons,  and  had  been  taken  by  Captain 
Rogers,  when  he  plundered  Guaquil,  several  years  before  ;  she  had 
many  passengers  on  board,  and  her  lading  was  of  very  considerable  va- 
lue. On  the  3d  of  November,  took  a  vessel  of  seventy  tons,  on  board  of 
which  was  the  Countess  of  Laguna  and  several  other  passengers,  a  great 
quantity  of  ready  money,  and  upward  of  400  jars  of  wine  and  brandy, 
articles  they  much  wanted.  The  captain  offered  the  countess  her  choice, 
to  remain  on  board  the  prize,  or  to  accept  such  accommodations  as  he 
was  able  to  afford  on  board  the  Success  ;  and,  as  she  preferred  the 
former,  he  sent  an  officer  of  marines,  with  a  guard,  on  board  the  prize, 
to  prevent  her  being  molested.  On  the  12lh,  discovered  a  vessel  at 
some  distance,  of  200  tons  burthen,  and  bound  from  Panama  to  Lima,  with 
a  lading  of  wood,  which,  though  of  very  little  value  to  them,  they  took. 

On  the  24th  of  November,  took  a  prize  of  about  200  tons  burthen, 
laden  with  wood,  from  Panama  to  Lima,  having  on  board  forty  negroes, 
and  thirty  Spaniards,  chiefly  passengers.  On  the  27th,  came  to  an  an- 
chor with  all  the  prizes  at  the  Island  La  Plata,  where  the  captain  began 
seriously  to  consider  how  he  should  make  the  voyage  turn  out  to  the 
greatest  possible  advantage  to  his  owners,  as  well  as  to  himself  and  the 
ship's  company.  He  knew  the  coast  was  alarmed,  and  had  certain"  in- 
telligence that  two  men-of-war,  one  of  fifty  and  the  other  of  thirty-four 
guns,  were  fitted  out  on  purpose  to  take  him.  He  had  no  expectation 
of  getting  the  goods  he  had  taken,  ransomed,  in  that  part  of  the  world, 
and  was  sensible  that  they  would  prove  of  very  little  value  if  brought  to 
England.  He,  therefore,  determined  to  try  a  project  which  Captain  Ro- 
gers had  successfully  practised  before,  that  of  sending  a  cargo  of  prize 
goods  to  Brazil ;  and,  accordingly,  fitted  out  the  bark  in  vv'hich  he  had 
taken  the  Countess  of  Laguna,  mounted  her  with  eight  guns,  and  putting 
on  board  thirteen  Englishmen  and  ten  negroes,  with  what  provisions  and 
necessaries  he  could  spare,  he  loaded  her  with  a  cargo  valued  at  £10,000 
and  upward ;  and  on  the  27th  she  sailed  for  Brazil,  under  the  command 
of  Captain  Mitchell. 

Clipperton  now  sailed  from  La  Plata,  in  order  to  cruise  in  his  former 
station  ;  and  on  the  12th  of  December,  about  five  in  the  evening,  saw  a 
sail,  which  he  soon  took ;  she  was  called  the  Rosary,  bound  from  Cher- 
rippe  for  Panama,  laden  with  provisions.  Next  day  the  launch  and  pin- 
nace were  employed  in  taking  flour  and  other  provisions  from  on  board 
the  prize  ;  and  when  they  had  taken  as  much  out  of  her  as  they  could 
well  stow,  cut  her  mainmast  by  the  board,  lest  she  should  overset,  and 
let  her  go.  They  continued  to  crui.se  in  this  station,  lying  in  toward  the 
shore  at  night,  and  standing  off  all  the  day  ;  but  met  with  no  adventure 
till  the  27th,  when  they  anchored  in  Guanchaco  Bay,  where  they  found 
two  ships  at  anchor,  and  fired  a  shot  at  each,  but  no  return  was  made. 
They  then  sent  their  boats  on  board,  but  found  the  vessels  abandoaed, 
and  discovered  that  the  lading  had  been  just  taken  out. 

It  was  now  resolved  to  bear  away  for  the  Gallapagos  islands,  in  ©rder 


136  VOYAGES  ROUND  TJIE  WORLD. 

'  to  refresh  ;  and  accordingly,  on  the  9th  of  January,  1720,  they  anchored 
in  York  Road,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Duke  of  York's  Island,  directly 
under  the  equinoctial  line,  where  they  found  good  water,  scrubbed  and 
cleaned  their  ship  ;  and,  after  a  stay  of  ten  days,  left  those  islands,  and 
sailed  to  the  northward. 

They  discovered  a  sail  on  the  21st  of  January,  which  they  continued 
to  chase  till  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  when  they  came  up  with  her,  and 
she  struck  on  their  firing  a  single  gun*  This  ship  was  called  the  Prince 
Eugene,  bound  from  Panama  to  Lima,  having  on  board  the  Marquis  de 
Villa  Roche,  who  had  been  President  of  Panama,  and  all  his  family. 

On  the  20th  of  April,  anchored  in  the  Gulf  of  Amapalla,  with  a  view 
to  have  taken  in  water  ;  but,  not  being  able  to  procure  any,  they  steered 
to  the  Island  of  Tygers,  where  there  was  abundance.  From  this  time 
till  the  24th  of  June  they  met  with  no  success  ;  but  on  that  day  took  a 
prize,  laden  with  timber  and  cocoa  nuts:  and  on  the  11th  of  August 
anchored,  with  their  prize,  at  the  Island  of  Lobos  de  la  Mar.  While  here, 
a  conspiracy,  headed  by  the  boatswain  and  another  fellow,  was  formed 
for  seizing  the  captain  and  the  rest  of  the  officers,  and  running  away 
with  the  ship.  The  conspirators  agreed  to  set  all  the  officers  on  shore 
on  the  Island  of  Lobos ;  and  then,  without  distinction,  to  shoot  every 
man  who  opposed  their  proceedings  ;  but  the  plot  being  discovered  on 
the  6th  of  September,  the  two  ringleaders  were  severely  punished,  and 
the  rest  pardoned,  which  put  an  end  to  the  conspiracy. 

On  the  1st  of  November,  sailed  for  the  Bay  of  Conception  ;  and  in  the 
passage  took  a  ship,  laden  with  tobacco,  sugar,  and  cloth.  They  made 
the  bay  on  the  6th,  in  the  afternoon,  where  they  saw  three  men-of-war, 
lying  with  their  topsails  loose,  who  no  sopner  discovered  them  than  they 
cut  their  cables  and  stood  in  chase.  At  this  time  Captain  Clipperton 
had  one  prize  with  him,  which,  as  well  as  the  Success,  hauled  close 
upon  a  wind  ;  on  which  the  best  sailer  among  the  Spanish  men-of-war 
gave  chase  to  tl.e  prize,  which  he  soon  came  up  with  and  took.  The 
other  ships  crowded  all  the  sail  they  could  for  some  time,  till  the  largest, 
having  her  raizzen-topmast  carried  away,  fired  a  gun,  tacked,  and  stood 
in  for  the  shore,  which  gave  the  Success  an  opportunity  of  making  her 
escape.  In  the  Spanish  prize  Clipperton  lost  his  third  lieutenant,  Mr. 
Milne,  and  twelve  of  his  men. 

On  the  16th,  saw  another  sail,  to  which  they  gave  chase,  but  after  a 
few  guns  fired  on  both  sides,  she  bore  away  and  out-sailed  them,  perhaps 
a  happy  circumstance,  as  she  was  a  ship  of  force  fitted  out  to  take  Cap- 
tain Shelvock  ;  but  the  captain  knowing  this  was  not  Shelvock's  ship, 
and  doubting  her  strength,  was  unwilling  to  engage  her.  They  now 
continued  cruising  to  the  northward,  not  in  search  of  plunder  only,  but 
provisions,  particularly  flour,  of  which  they  had  none  left,  and  were  at 
this  time  reduced  to  an  allowance  of  half  a  pound  of  Indian  corn  a  day 
to  each  man.  On  the  4th  of  December  found  themselves  very  near  the 
Gallapagos,  and  on  the  6th  sent  the  pinnace  to  discover  an  anchoring 
place  near  one  of  the  islands,  which  returned  without  finding  any,  but 
reported  they  saw  a  great  number  of  turtle  on  shore  ;  on  which  the  pin- 
nace and  yawl  were  sent  to  get  some,  and  returned  with  fish  sufficient  to 
serve  the  whole  ship's  company  a  day.  There  being  a  prodigious  surf 
they  could  not  land,  but  kept  plying  on  and  off,  till  unwilling  to  lose 
raoro,  time,  they  determined  to  steer  for  the  Island  of  Cocos,  where  they 
hoped  to  get  fresh  provisions,  which  the  number  of  sick  people  on  board 
rendered  very  necessary. 


JOHN  CLIPPERTON.  137 

On  the  17th,  in  the  morning,  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  Island 
of  Cocos,  at  the  distance  of  nine  leagues  to  the  north-west,  which  filled 
them  with  inexpressible  joy  ;  and  next  day  all  who  could  with  safety  be 
spared  from  the  ship,  went  on  shore  to  build  a  large  tent  for  the  recep 
tion  of  the  sick.  Here  they  got  plenty  of  fish,  fowls,  eggs,  cocoa  nuts, 
and  other  refreshments  ;  the  captain  opened  the  last  jar  of  brandy, 
distributing  to  every  man  a  dram  a  day  ;  and  on  New  Year's  day  he 
allowed  a  gallon  of  strong  beer  to  every  mess  ;  so  that  by  proper  refresh- 
ments and  ease  the  crew  began  to  recover  apace,  and  at  lengih  got  their 
wood  and  water  on  board.  On  the  17th  of  January,  1721,  the  captain 
made  the  necessary  dispositions  for  sailing  ;  but  it  was  three  days  before 
he  could  get  his  people  on  board,  and  even  then  there  were  no  less  than 
eleven  missing,  viz.,  three  Englishmen  and  eight  negroes,  who  preferred 
an  idle  life  in  that  solitary  place,  to  the  dread  of  the  dangers  and  fatigues 
to  which  they  were  continually  exposed  on  board. 

On  the  25th  of  this  month  arrived  on  the  coast  of  Mexico,  where,  dis- 
covering a  sail  about  seven  in  the  evening,  they  sent  their  pinnace  to  give 
chase,  to  whom  she  struck  about  eleven.  On  the  return  of  the  pinnace 
they  had  the  surprising  account,  that  this  was  a  Spanish  ship  called  the 
Jesu  Maria,  now  commanded  by  Captain  Shelvock,  who  gave  the  follow- 
ing account :  that  he  had  no  more  than  forty  of  his  men  on  board,  the 
rest  being  all  dead  or  dispersed  ;  that  he  had  lost  the  Speedwell  at  Juan 
Fernandez,  where  they  staid  five  months,  and  built  a  bark  out  of  the 
wreck,  with  which  they  put  to  sea,  and  coasted  along  Chili  and  Peru, 
meeting  several  sliips,  but  could  take  nothing  till  they  came  to  Pisco, 
near  Lima,  where  they  made  this  prize.  There  was,  however,  conside- 
rable difference  in  their  accounts,  and  it  appeared  they  had  no  regular 
command  among  them,  but  had  chosen  a  quarter-master,  and  carried 
everything  by  a  majority  of  votes  ;  so  that  they  had  entirely  broken  iheir 
articles  with  respect  to  their  owners,  and  had  shared  what  they  had 
among  themselves. 

At  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  Shelvock  came  on  board,  having  been 
sent  for  by  Captain  Clipperton  to  give  an  account  of  his  transactions. 
The  latter  still  keeping  to  the  northward,  saw  the  Jesu  Maria  several 
times,  but,  in  the  beginning  of  the  month  of  March,  considering  they 
had  a  fair  opportunity  of  coming  up  with  the  Manilla  ship  before  she 
entered  Acapulco,  the  officers  determined,  the  next  time  they  saw  Cap- 
tain Shelvock,  to  propose  to  him  to  make  the  attempt. 

On  the  13th  they  discovered  a  sail,  which  from  the  signals  appearing 
to  be  him,  they  brought-to,  and  the  captain  and  his  lieutenants  came  on 
board,  when  a  general  consultation  was  held,  at  which  the  officers  be- 
longing to  both  ships  agreed  that  the  attempt  should  be  made  jointly, 
and  that  if  happy  enough  to  meet  her,  they  should  run  her  aboard  at 
once,  which  they  supposed  to  be  their  only  chance  of  success.  After 
this  they  cruised  for  her,  and  on  the  15th  Captain  Clipperton  held  ano- 
ther consultation,  in  which  the  following  proposals  were  agreed  to, 
signed,  and  sent  to  Captain  Shelvock  :  that  if  he  and  his  crew  would  re- 
fund all  the  money  shared  among  themselves  contrary  to  the  articles 
with  the  owners,  and  agree  to  put  it  into  a  joint  stock,  then  all  faults 
should  be  forgiven,  both  companies  would  unite  and  proceed  to  cruise 
for  the  Manilla  ship.  However,  Shelvock  and  his  people  not  caring  to 
part  with  anything  they  possessed,  declined  giving  any  answer  to  this 
proposal.  Captain  Clipperton  now  finding  that  nothing  was  to  be  done 
with  hi^  coadjutor,  having  waited  till  some  days  were  elapsed,  beyond 

155* 


138  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

the  usual  time  of  meeting  with  the  Manilla  ship,  determined  to  go  di- 
rectly to  the  East  Indies. 

On  the  1 3th  of  May  anchored  in  the  road  of  Guam,  and  sent  the  pin- 
nace on  shore  with  a  flag  of  truce,  in  order  to  obtain  some  provisions  ; 
but  the  inhabitants  sent  word  they  could  not  trade  without  the  gover- 
nor's permission  ;  and,  therefore,  it  was  thought  proper  to  make  imme- 
diate application  to  him.  Mr.  Godfrey,  agent  for  the  owners  on  board 
the  Success,  having  been  sent  to  the  governor's  residence  at  Umatta, 
returned  on  the  16th,  in  one  of  their  proas,  with  a  message,  importing 
that  they  should  be  supplied  with  provisions,  provided  they  behaved  civilly 
and  paid  honestly.  On  the  same  day  their  own  launch  arrived,  and 
brought  on  board  bread,  greens,  fruits,  sugar,  brandy,  and  catile.  On  the 
next  the  governor  sent  a  handsome  present  of  sugar,  brandy,  and  palm 
wine,  with  a  considerable  quantity  of  chocolate  :  in  acknowledgment  of 
which  kindness  the  whole  ship's  company  drank  his  health,  under  a  dis- 
charge of  seven  guns. 

The  governor  having  agreed  for  the  ransom  of  the  Marquis  de  Villa 
Roche,  who  had  been  so  long  their  prisoner,  he  went  on  shore  on  the 
18th  of  May,  in  company  with  the  agent,  first  lieutenant,  and  surgeon, 
and  was  complimented  with  five  guns  on  his  landing.  Soon  after  this 
they  received  a  letter,  in  which  the  governor  agreed  to  pay  for  the  con- 
secrated plate,  and  desired  more  powder  and  shot :  to  which  the  captain 
replied,  that  he  would  not  spare  an^  more,  nor  send  back  the  negroes. 
The  yawl  went  on  shore  on  the  28th  for  more  provisions  ;  but  the  offi- 
cer who  had  the  government  of  the  village  told  them  they  should  have 
no  more,  unless  they  sent  a  quantity  of-powder  and  shot. 

On  this  Captain  Clipperton  immediately  weighed  anchor,  sending  the 
pinnace  ahead  to  sound,  and  making  the  best  of  his  way  to  his  ship  in 
the  harbour.  During  this  kind  of  sham  treaty,  the  people  on  shore  had 
raised  a  battery,  from  whence  they  now  began  to  fire  at  the  pinnace, 
which,  on  her  return,  gave  an  account  that  the  channel  was  within  pistol- 
shot  of  the  shore.  About  six  in  the  afternoon,  making  toward  the  ship, 
they  ran  aground,  the  Spaniards  having  carried  her  into  shoal  water  ;  so 
that  they  now  sustained  two  fires,  one  from  the  ship  and  another  froni 
the  battery  over  their  heads.  At  nine  o'clock  they  got  foul  of  the  rocks, 
and  endeavouring  to  get  off,  cut  away  two  of  their  anchors  ;  and  the 
enemy  now  fired  so  warmly  with  stones  and  shot  from  a  new  battery 
erected  on  a  hill,  that  they  suffered  extremely  in  their  hull  and  rigging, 
and  lost  the  first  lieutenant,  and  three  men  wounded.  Thus  they  lay  in 
a  miserable  condition,  exposed  to  the  continual  fire  of  the  enemy,  who, 
in  the  night,  had  a  very  considerable  advantage  over  them,  for  the  water 
being  as  smooth  as  a  pond,  easily  showed  their  position  ;  whereas  they 
had  no  other  direction  for  their  aim  than  the  flashes  of  the  guns  from 
the  Spanish  battery. 

At  four  in  the  afternoon  they  set  her  afloat,  and  cut  away  the  small 
bower-anchor  ;  but  in  ten  minutes  ran  aground  again  ;  at  nine  they  car- 
ried out  the  kedge-anchor,  but  in  heaving  the  hawser  broke  ;  they  im- 
mediately carried  out  another  hawser,  with  a  lower-deck  gun  to  it,  having 
now  lost  all  their  anchors,  and  being  still  aground.  At  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning  the  enemy  hailed  them  several  times  to  surrender,  or  expect 
no  quarter  ;  and  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  they  carried  out  the 
rest  of  the  small  bower,  with  two  lower-deck  guns,  right  ahead,  into  five 
fathoms  water  :  they  then  cleared  away  the  hold,  ready  to  start  their  wa- 
ter, to  make  the  ship  lighter ;  got  their  upper  and  lower-deck  guns  for- 


JOHN  CLIPPEUTON.  139 

ward,  to  bring  her  by  the  head,  the  ship  hanging  abaft  upon  the  rock. 
During  the  last  four-and-twcnty  hours  they  had  happily  but  one  person 
wounded  ;  but  the  ship  was  wretchedly  torn  and  mangled  between  wind 
and  water.  On  the  30th,  at  six  in  the  afternoon,  just  as  they  got  afloat, 
the  enemy  fired  so  briskly  from  the  new  battery,  that  the  shot  raked  them  be- 
tween wind  and  water,  killing  one  of  their  people  and  wounding  two  others. 
Thus  they  lost  both  their  bower-anchors  and  cables,  the  stern  and  kedge 
anchors,  four  hawsers,  four  of  their  lower-deck  guns,  and  nineteen  barrels 
of  powder  ;  and  had  two  men  killed  and  six  wounded,  having  stood  no 
less  than  fifty  hours  a  fair  mark  for  the  enemy  to  fire  at ;  and  if  they  had 
not  got  clear,  it  was  believed  they  would  have  sunk  them  before  morning. 

On  the  23d  of  June,  on  a  strict  examhiation,  they  found  the  ship  in  a 
very  shattered  condition,  having  scarce  a  whole  timber  in  her  upper 
works  :  and  as  it  blew  pretty  fresh,  they  durst  not  carry  sail,  but  were 
forced,  for  a  week  together,  to  scud  under  bare  poles,  through  variable 
winds  and  in  bad  weather.  This,  indeed,  was  a  melancholy  situation 
for  people  to  be  in,  who  were  in  seas  with  which  they  were  but  little  ac- 
quainted, and  sailing  by  charts  on  which  they  could  not  absolutely  depend. 
On  the  1st  of  July  fell  in  with  other  islands,  and  despatched  their  pinnace 
for  intelligence  how  far  Macao  bore  from  them,  for  which  port  they  now 
intended  to  proceed.  The  pinnace  returned  on  the  next  day  with  a  boat, 
in  which  were  three  Chinese  sailors,  from  whom  they  could  learn  nothing 
more  than  that  Canton  lay  to  the  south-west. 

On  the  3d,  finding  they  were  too  far  to  the  leeward  of  Macao,  and  not 
being  able  to  get  a  pilot,  they  resolved  to  sail  for  Amoy,  before  which 
port  they  arrived  on  the  5lh,  in  the  evening.  The  entrance  of  the  port 
is  remarkable,  having  a  high  mountain,  on  the  top  of  which  is  a  tower, 
which  may  be  seen  twenty  leagues  at  sea  ;  and  on  the  other  side  of  it 
is  a  little  island,  which  lies  immediately  before  the  bay.  They  entered 
thi.s  bay  on  the  Gth  of  July,  and  they  were  no  sooner  anchored  than  they 
had  ten  custom-house  officers  put  on  board.  The  day  after  this  the  men 
mutinied,  and  insisted  that  the  captain  should  pay  them  their  prize  mo- 
ney immediately,  as  they  knew  the  Success  was  in  no  condition  to  put 
to  sea. 

On  the  12th  the  officers  went  on  shore  to  wait  on  the  hoppo,  who  re- 
ceived them  in  a  very  fine  palace,  treated  them  with  great  civility,  and 
gave  them  permission  to  remain  iu  the  harbour  till  the  monsoons  were 
over,  for  which,  however,  he  demanded,  and  soon  afterward  was  paid,  in 
ready  money,  a  very  extraordinary  compensation,  under  the  name  of  port 
charges,  amounting  to  1700  dollars,  which  is  about  £400  sterling.  Some 
of  the  men  having  gone  on  shore  without  leave,  Captain  Clipperton  would 
have  corrected  them,  but  the  whole  crew  declaring  on  their  side,  prevent- 
ed it ;  so  that  all  things  fell  into  confusion,  the  men  refusing  to  work 
till  they  had  received  their  prize  money.  To  show  that  they  had  no  more 
regard  to  the  credit  of  their  country  than  they  had  to  the  respect  due  to 
their  officer,  they  applied  to  the  chief  mandarin  of  the  place,  and  desired 
that  he  would  do  them  justice  against  the  captain. 

Clipperton' was,  therefore,  summoned  before  him  ;  and  on  the  manda- 
rin's demanding  a  reason  why  he  refused  to  comply  with  the  desires  of 
the  crew,  he  produced  the  articles,  by  which  it  appeared  that  the  prize 
money  was  not  to  be  shared  till  their  return  to  London.  But  Captain 
Cook  (for  so  he  was  now  called)  being  examined,  gave  the  mandarin  a 
different  account ;  on  which  a  guard  of  soldiers  was  sent  on  board  the 
ship,  with  a  strict  order  from  the  mandarin  to  Captain  Clipperton  to  set- 


140  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

tie  the  shares,  and  pay  the  men,  with  which  he  was  obliged  to  comply. 
Pursuant  to  the  same  orders,  this  distribution  was  made  on  the  16th  of 
September;  but  though  Mr.  Cook  and  his  associates  carried  their  point 
in  this  manner,  Captain  Clipperton's  arguments  had  so  much  weight  with 
the  chief  mandarin,  that  before  he  permitted  them  to  proceed  to  the  dis- 
tribution, he  obhged  them  to  lay  by  one-half  of  the  cargo  for  the  benefit 
of  the  owners  ;  which,  in  ready  money,  wrought  silver,  gold,  and  jewels, 
amounted  to  between  6  and  £7000  sterling,  which  was  immediately  put 
on  board  a  Portuguese  East  Indiaman,  called  the  Queen  of  Angels, 
which  ship  was  afterward  unfortunately  burnt  at  Rio  Janeiro,  on  the  coast 
of  Brazil ;  so  that  of  the  effects  the  owners  received  no  more,  the  charges 
of  salvage  being  deducted,  than  £1800. 

They  weighed  anchor  from  the  Bay  of  Amoy  on  the  13th  of  Septem- 
ber, in  order  to  proceed  lo  Macao,  in  the  road  of  which  they  anchored 
on  the  4th  of  October.  As  soon  as  Captain  Clipperton  entered  the  port, 
Mr.  Cook  and  another  gentleman  proposed  going  to  Canton,  to  consult 
Mr.  Winder,  supercargo  to  an  East  Indiaman,  who  was  son  to  one  of  the 
principal  proprietors,  as  to  what  should  be  done  with  the  Success  ;  and, 
on  their  return,  she  was  surveyed,  condemned,  and  sold  for  4000  dollars. 
After  this,  Clipperton  agreed  with  the  purchaser  for  a  passage  in  her  to 
Batavia.  And  when  he  arrived  there,  he  procured  a  passage,  in  a  Dutch 
ship,  to  Europe.  On  his  arrival  in  Holland,  finding  himself  in  a  decli- 
ning state  of  health,  he  took  the  first  opportunity  of  getting  to  Galvvay, 
in  Ireland,  where  he  had  left  his  family ;  but  the  satisfaction  he  received 
in  seeing  them  was  of  a  very  short  duration,  for,  with  a  broken  fortune, 
he  died  of  a  broken  heart  within  a  week  after  his  landing. 


CAPTAIN  GEORGE  SHELVOCK.— 1719-23. 

An  account  has  been  already  given  of  the  preceding  voyage,  and  of 
the  motives  that  influenced  the  undertaking.  It  remains  now  only  to 
relate  the  proceedings  of  Captain  Shelvock,  the  second  in  command,  who 
has  himself  been  circumstantial  in  laying  before  the  public  the  particu- 
lars. On  the  13th  of  February,  1719,  sailed  from  Plymouth,  in  the 
Speedwell,  in  company  with  the  Success,  of  36  guns.  Captain  John  Clip- 
perton. On  the  15th,  went  under  his  lee,  and  desired  him  to  send  for 
his  wine  and  brandy,  which  he  neglecting,  lost  his  sea-stock  of  liquors  ; 
for  they  never  saw  anything  of  each  other  till  about  two  years  afterward. 
'Thursday,  the  19th,  a  storm  arose,  and  about  midnight  a  sea  drove  in  the 
quarter  and  one  of  the  stern  dead-lights.  For  a  considerable  time  they 
were  under  apprehensions  of  foundering  ;  a  succession  of  prodigious 
seas  drove  over  the  ship  ;  and,  in  this  melancholy  state,  the  chain-pump 
was  the  only  means  of  deliverance.  February  20th,  had  no  sight  of  the 
Success,  and  at  midnight  set  the  topsails,  and  stood  to  the  north-westward. 

A  tedious  passage  occurred  to  the  first  place  of  rendezvous,  the  Canary 
islands  ;  and  did  not  arrive  there  till  the  I7th  of  March,  where  hearing  no- 
thing of  the  Success,  on  the  29th  took  their  departure  from  the  Island  of 
Ferro,  in  hopes  of  meeting  with  Captain  Clipperton  among  the  islands  of 
Cape  de  Verde.  On  the  14th  of  April,  made  the  Isle  of  May  ;  and  run 
ning  alonsr  shore,  saw  a  wreck,  which  they  were  told  was  the  Vanzittem 
Indiaman,  Captain  Hide,  who,  three  weeks  before,  had  been  cast  away. 
On  Friday,  June  19th,  made  the  Island  of  St.  Catharine's  ;  and  at  ten 
next  morning  anchored  in  ten  fathoms  water,  the  Island  of  Gall  bearing 


GEORGE  SHELVOCK.  141 

east-north-east,  distant  two  leagues,  and  the  easternmost  point  of  St. 
Catharine's  east  and  by  south,  distant  four  leagues.  The  first  thing  was 
to  send  the  carpenter  on  shore,  with  all  the  people  that  could  be  useful 
in  felling  trees  and  sawing  them  into  plank,  and  to  order  the  cooper  and 
his  crew  to  trim  the  casks  and  fill  them  with  water. 

July  the  2d,  were  alarmed  at  break  of  day  by  the  appearance  of  a  large 
ship  at  anchor,  four  or  five  miles  below  the  place  where  they  lay.  An 
officer  was  sent  in  the  launch,  well  manned  and  arm.ed,  to  see  what  he 
could  make  of  her,  and  put  the  ship  into  the  best  posture  of  defence 
practicable.  About  noon  the  launch  returned,  and  brought  word  that  this 
ship  was  the  Ruby,  formerly  an  English  man-of-war,  and  now  one  of  M. 
Martinet's  squadron  ;  that  she  came  from  the  South  Seas,  and  was  com- 
manded by  M.  la  Jonquiere  ;  that  he,  his  officers,  and  seamen,  to  the 
number  of  420,  were  all  French  ;  and  though  in  the  Spanish  service,  had 
not  the  least  design  to  molest  the  English. 

July  15th,  saw  a  great  ship  plying  into  the  harbour's  mouth  ;  but  when 
she  discovered  the  Speedwell,  made  the  bestof  her  way  out  again.  This 
possessed  M.  la  Jonquiere  with  a  notion  of  her  being  the  Success,  and 
put  him  into  a  hurry  to  be  gone  ;  accordingly,  when  night  came,  he 
weighed,  and  went  to  sea  the  next  morning.  During  all  this,  the  car- 
penter went  on  but  slowly  in  the  woods  ;  and  at  last,  when  they  came  to 
case  the  stern  all  over  with  thick  plank,  they  could  find  no  nails  fit  for  that 
use  ;  and  it  seemed  the  first  carpenter  and  his  crew  had  sold  most  of  the 
stores  before  the  ship  left  Plymouth.  July  25th,  a  large  Sjhip  came  in, 
called  the  Wise  Solomon,  of  St.  Malo's,  of  40  guns,  and  160  men,  com- 
manded by  M.  Domain  Girard,  and  bound  to  the  coasts  of  Chili  and 
Peru  to  trade.  August  3d,  there  came  in  the  St.  Francisco  Xavier,  a 
Portuguese  man-of-war,  of  40  guns,  and  300  men,  from  Lisbon,  bound  to 
Macao,  in  China,  commanded  by  Captain  la  Riviere,  a  Frenchman.  On 
the  6th  three  of  the  men  deserted,  and  the  mate  and  his  party  went  up  to 
the  Portuguese  plantations  in  search  of  them.  It  being  almost  midnight, 
the  inhabitants  took  the  alarm,  and  planted  themselves  in  ambuscade  to  de- 
stroy them  as  they  came  back.  No  sooner  had  they  returned  into  the 
boat,  than  they  heard  them  rushing  out  of  the  woods,  crying,  "  Kill  the 
dogs,  kill  all  the  English  dogs."  This  outcry  was  instantly  followed  by 
a  volley  of  small  arms,  which  wounded  three  men.  They  made  no  long 
stay  after  this  disaster,  but  took  their  departure  from  the  northernmost 
point  of  St.  Catherine's,  on  the  9th  of  August. 

September  19th,  about  midnight,  perceived  the  water  to  be  discoloured 
all  at  once,  and  upon  heaving  the  lead,  found  themselves  in  twenty-six 
fathoms  water  ;  this  done,  stood  off  again  to  sea,  but  did  not  deepen  their 
water  in  the  running  of  five  leagues.  This  seems  to  be  a  bank  very  near 
the  entrance  of  the  straits  of  Magellan.  On  the  13th,  the  fog  clearing 
up,  they  had  a  full  but  melancholy  prospect  of  the  most  desolate  country 
that  can  be  conceived,  seeming  no  other  than  continued  ridges  and  chains 
of  mountains,  one  within  another,  perpetually  buried  in  snow.  Till  now, 
they  had  not  been  sensible  of  any  helps  or  hindrances  by  currents  ;  but 
this  afternoon  were  hurried  with  incredible  rapidity  into  the  straits,  and 
just  as  they  had  gained  somewhat  more  than  the  mid-passage,  the  nor- 
thern tide  came  rushing  out  with  a  violence  equal  to  that  of  the  tide  which 
had  brought  them  in,  and  to  their  great  astoniohment,  drove  them  out  of 
the  straits  again  at  a  great  and  extraordinary  rate,  notwithstanding  a  fresh 
and  fair  gale  in  their  favour,  at  north-virest.  The  ship  laboured  in  the 
most  alarming  manner,  and  became  insensible  of  the  guidance  of  the 


142  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

helm  ;  but  at  midnight  the  tide  shifting,  they  put  through  the  straits  with- 
out seeing  the  land  on  either  side,  and  in  the  morning  had  a  very  good 
offing  to  the  southward. 

They  now  formed  a  resolution  of  going  to  the  Isle  of  Chiloe  ;  and  on 
the  30th  of  November  entered  the  channel,  with  an  intent  to  surprise 
and  attack  the  towns  of  Chacao  and  Calibuco  ;  but  immediately  after 
they  had  come-to,  the  windward  tide  made  out  with  prodigious  rapidity, 
which  instantly  caused  a  great  sea  ;  and  the  wind  increasing  at  the  same 
time,  the  channel  all  around  appeared  as  if  agitated  by  a  storm.  In  the 
rnidst  of  this  the  ship  laid  a  great  strain  upon  her  cable,  which  unfortu- 
nately parted,  and  they  lost  the  anchor.  December  3d,  there  came  a 
Spanish  officer,  in  a  piragua  rowed  by  eight  Indians,  sent  by  the  governor 
to  know  who  they  were.  They  hoisted  French  colours,  and  when  the 
Spaniard  came  on  board,  told  him  they  were  a  homeward-bound  French 
ship,  called  the  St.  Rose,  and  that  the  captain's  name  was  Le  Janis  le 
Breton.  Under  this  notion  he  staid  all  night,  and  next  morning  departed, 
not  seeming  to  suspect  them.  From  this  deception  they  had  now  the 
decks  full  of  live  cattle,  such  as  European  sheep,  hogs,  guanicoes,  poul- 
try in  abundance,  and  hams,  Sec,  as  also  a  good  quantity  of  wheat,  bar- 
ley, potatoes,  maize,  or  Indian  corn  ;  and  in  short,  four  months'  provisions 
to  what  remained  of  the  English  stock. 

December  17th,  unmoored,  and  at  noon  weighed  and  sailed  out  with 
the  wind  al  west-south-west.  On  December  the  23d,  came  abreast  of 
the  Teats  of  Biobia,  and  in  the  evening  arrived  in  the  bay,  from  whence 
were  ordered  the  boats,  well  manned  and  armed,  to  go  up  in  the  night  to 
surprise  what  ships  or  vessels  might  be  in  the  harbour,  and  to  make  v/hat 
observations  they  could  concerning  the  place.  About  noon  Captain 
Hatley  returned  in  the  pinnace,  having  taken  the  Solidad  d'Anday,  of  150 
tons,  the  only  ship  in  the  road,  lately  come  from  Baldivia,  laden  with  tim- 
ber ;  had  nobody  on  board  except  the  boatswain,  an  old  negro,  and  two 
Indian  boys.  He  took  also  a  small  vessel  of  about  twenty-five  tons,  near 
the  Island  of  Quiriquine,  which  belonged  to  a  priest  who  had  been  gather- 
ing fruits,  and  was  now  made  a  prisoner  in  her,  together  with  four  or 
five  Indians.  They  were  agreeably  surprised  soon  after  with  the  sight 
of  a  .large  ship,  coming  about  the  northernmost  point  of  the  Island  of 
Quiriquine.  It  was  almost  dark,  and  she  could  not  perceive  what  they 
were,  so  that  she  stood  on  without  fear.  As  soon  as  she  approached  near 
enough  they  hailed,  to  which  she  returned  no  answer,  and  they  fired  into 
her.  This  was  no  sooner  done,  than  she  came-to,  and  called  for  quarter. 
She  was  called  the  St.  Fermin,  came  from  Callao,  burthen  about  300 
tons,  and  laden  with  sugar,  molasses,  rice,  coarse  French  linen,  and  some 
cloths  of  Quito,  together  with  a  small  quantity  of  chocolate,  and  about 
5  or  6000  dollars  in  money  and  wrought  plate. 

January  1st,  Captain  Betagh  went  to  Conception,  with  a  copy  of  Shel- 
vock's  commission,  the  declaration  of  war,  &c.,  and  soon  after  returned 
with  a  Flemish  Jesuit,  a  Spanish  lawyer,  an  Englishman,  and  a  Scotch- 
man. The  Jesuit  assured  the  Captain  he  was  only  come  to  pay  his  re- 
spects, and  to  do  his  utmost  to  promote  the  ransom  of  the  ships  ;  he  then 
said  that  the  captains  of  the  St.  Fermin  and  Solidad  had  resolved  to  give 
12,000  dollars  for  the  ransom  of  both  the  ships,  and  the  Mercury  included, 
instead  of  16,000  dollars,  which  had  been  insisted  on  for  the  St.  Fermin 
only.  To  this  they  positively  answered,  that  all  persuasions,  artifices, 
and  pretences  should  never  qjake  ihem  agree  to  them.  They  had  taken 
in  the  St.  Fermin  ten  large  silver  candlesticks,  each  of  them  weighing 


GEORGE  SHELVOCK.  143 

above  twenty-five  pounds  sterling.  January  6th,  the  morning  passed 
away  without  any  news  from  the  town.  They  now  began  to  make  pre- 
paration for  sailing,  in  which  they  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  day.  There 
being  no  appearance  of  any  boat  coming  off,  they  ordered  the  St.  Terrain 
to  be  set  on  fire.  Her  cotton  sails,  being  loosed,  made  a  prodigious  blaze. 
They  had  already  set  fire  to  the  Solidad  to  quicken  their  motions  ;  and 
now,  having  concluded  the  treaty,  immediately  got  under  sail,  much  cha- 
grined at  the  loss  of  so  many  days  without  reaping  any  advantage. 

January  11th,  at  six  in  the  morning,  saw  the  Island  of  Juan  Fernandez, 
and  from  that  day  uutil  the  15th,  kept  standing  off  and  on  the  shore  for 
boats,  which  were  fishing.  At  length,  going  on  shore  to  make  a  search, 
some  of  the  men  accidentally  saw  the  word  Magee,  which  v/as  the  name 
of  Clipperton's  surgeon,  and  Captain  John  cut  out  under  it  upon  a  tree. 
Being  thus  confirmed  in  the  certainty  of  Clipperton's  arrival,  they  directly 
made  the  best  of  their  way  to  the  northward.  February  5th,  despatched 
Mr.  Brooks  ahead  to  discover  if  there  were  any  shipping  at  Arica,  and 
next  day  had  a  sight  of  the  head- land  of  that  place  and  the  Island  of 
Guano,  with  a  ship  at  anchor  on  the  northern  side  of  it,  and  saw  the 
Mercury  standing  out  of  the  bay,  by  which  they  judged  the  ship  was  too 
warm  for  her,  and  therefore  made  all  possible  haste  to  get  up  to  her  with 
the  ship.  They  found  her  already  taken,  and  that  the  Mercury  only  went 
accidentally  adrift.  This  prize  was  called  the  Rosario,  of  about  100  tons, 
of  no  value.  February  26th,  the  officers  in  the  Mercury  desired  to  be 
relieved,  and  it  being  Captain  Hatley's  turn  to  go  in  her,  he  proposed  that 
he  might  continue  along  shoro  so  far  as  Lobos,  an  island  in  about  seven 
degrees  of  south  latitude  The  very  next  day  they  took  a  small  bark 
laden  with  rice,  chocolate,  wheat,  flour,  and  the  like.  The  day  following 
they  took  another.  On  the  fourth  day  they  became  masters  of  a  ship  of 
near  200  tons,  worth  150,000  pieces  of  eight.  Flushed  with  this  success, 
the  greater  part  of  the  people  wished  to  lay  hold  of  this  opportunity  and 
go  to  India  :  but  no  sooner  clapped  their  helm  aweatherfor  this  purpose, 
than  they  saw  a  sail  standing  in  chase,  which,  in  short,  proved  to  be  a  Spa- 
nish man-of-war,  who  caught  them,  and  put  an  end  to  their  Indian  voyage. 
March  21st,  at  three  in  the  afternoon,  saw  the  Pena  Oradado,  or  the 
Hole  in  the  Rock ;  and  in  an  hour  afterward  entered  the  cove  of  Paita, 
with  French  colours  flying.  At  two  o'clock  next  morning,  Shelvock 
landed  with  forty-six  men,  leaving  Mr.  Coldsea,  the  master,  and  some 
others  to  bring  the  ship  nearer  in,  that  they  might  the  more  expeditiously 
enabark  the  expected  plimder.  They  marched  up  to  the  great  church 
without  meeting  any  opposition  ;  and  indeed  found  the  town  entirely  de- 
serted by  the  inhabitants.  The  remainder  of  the  day  was  spent  in  ship- 
ping off  the  plunder.  In  the  afternoon  there  came  a  messenger,  to  know 
what  they  would  take  foi  the  ransom  of  the  town  and  ship  ;  to  which  it 
was  answered,  10,01)0  pieces  of  eight.  Having  received  a  negative  an- 
swer, and  got  everything  serviceable  out  of  the  town,  they  instantly  set 
it  on  fire  ;  and  the  houses,  being  extremely  dry,  consumed  a\vay  apace. 
But  no  sooner  was  Paita  in  a  blaze,  flhan  those  on  board  made  signals 
for  them  to  come  off,  and  kept  incessantly  firing  toward  the  mouth  of  the 
harbour,  where  was  a  large  ship  lying  with  her  fore-topsail  aback,  and 
with  a  Spanish  flag  flying  at  her  fore-topmast-head.  As  she  was  coming 
in  with  all  sails  spread,  Mr.  Coldsea,  by  the  assistance  of  the  few  on 
board,  fired  so  smartly,  that  he  stopped  the  enemy's  career.  The  Spa- 
niard apprehending  he  should  have  hot  work,  brought  his  ship  to,  that  he 
might  put  huoself  into  a  condition  of  making  a  more  vigorous  attack. 


144  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

This  inactivity  of  the  enemy  gave  an  opportunity  for  all  the  men  to  come 
off,  about  fifty  in  number,  but  the  Spaniard  was  within  pistol-shot  before 
they  had  got  into  the  Speedwell ;  upon  which  they  cut  the  cable,  but  the 
ship  falling  the  wrong  way,  had  just  room  enough  to  fill  clear  of  him. 
They  expected  him  every  minute  to  board,  and  upon  hearing  a  shouting 
among  them,  and  seeing  their  forecastle  full  of  men,  it  was  concluded 
they  had  now  come  to  that  resolution  ;  but  the  English  presently  saw  the 
occasion  of  this  joy  was  their  having  shot  down  the  ensign-staff,  though 
a  new  ensign  was  spread  in  the  mizzen-shrouds.  Upon  sight  of  this  they 
lay  snug,  and  held  their  way  close  upon  the  quarter  ;  at  last,  designing 
to  do  the  business  at  once,  they  clapped  their  helm  well  astarboard,  to 
bring  their  whole  broadside  to  bear,  but  their  fire  had  little  or  no  effect. 
All  stood  fast  in  the  Speedwell,  which  gave  time  both  to  get  ahead  and 
to  windward  of  him,  before  he  could  fill  his  sails  again.  After  this,  he 
was  in  a  great  hurry  to  get  his  spritsail-yard  fore  and  aft,  threatening  very 
hard,  and  plying  them  with  his  forechase  ;  but  they  were  soon  out  of  his 
reach  ;  this  ship  was  called  the  Peregrine,  of  fifty-six  guns,  with  upward 
of  450  men.  The  Speedwell  had  but  twenty  mounted,  with  seventy-three 
white  men,  eleven  negroes,  and  two  Indians. 

May  I  Ith,  saw  the  Island  of  Juan  Fernandez,  bearing  east  half  south. 
On  the  21st  a  hard  gale  of  wind  came  from  seaward,  and  brought  in 
with  it  a  tumbling  swell ;  so  that  in  a  few  hours  the  cable,  which  was 
never  wet  before,  parted,  and  inevitable  shipwreck  appeared  before  their 
eyes.  But  Providence  so  far  interposed,  that  if  they  had  struck  but  a 
cable's  length  farther  to  the  eastward  or  westward  of  the  place  where 
they  did,  they  must  certainly  all  have  perished.  The  mainmast,  fore- 
mast, and  mizzen-topmast  went  all  away  together  ;  and  happy  it  was  they 
did  so  ;  for,  by  making  them  serve  by  way  of  raft,  and  by  the  help  of 
those  who  were  on  shore  before  the  wind  came  on,  all  were  saved  except 
one  man. 

They  now  began  to  think  of  building  such  a  vessel  from  the  wreck  as 
might  carry  all  off  at  once  from  the  island  ;  and  for  that  purpose  consulted 
with  the  carpenters.  June  8th,  laid  the  blocks,  and  got  the  bowsprit 
ready  to  make  a  keel.  September  9th  a  boat,  begun  by  the  armourer, 
was  launched  ;  and,  being  now  in  a  fair  way  of  completing  the  bark, 
there  yet  remained,  unconsidered  and  undetermined,  what  provisions 
should  be  got  for  the  present  voyage.  All  the  stock  consisted  of  but 
one  cask  of  beef,  five  or  six  bushels  of  farina  or  Cassada  flour,  together 
with  four  or  five  live  hogs.  The  little  boat  was  now  daily  employed  in 
fishing.  Tke  armourer  constantly  supplied  them  with  hooks,  and  there 
was  no  want  of  lines,  which  were  made  of  twisted  riband.  In  the  mean- 
time, those  who  were  ashore  made  twice-layed  stuff  for  rigging  and  other 
uses  ;  others  patched  up  the  canvass  for  sails  ;  the  cooper  completed  his 
casks  ;  and,  in  a  short  time,  they  had  masts  an-end  tolerably  well  rigged, 
and  thought  they  made  a  pretty  good  figure.  The  next  spring  tide  they 
found  means  to  launch  her,  which  happened  on  the  5th  of  October,  by 
which  time  they  had  saved  about  2300  conger  eels,  weighing  one  with 
another  about  one  pound  each,  and  made  about  60  gallons  of  seals'  oil 
to  fry  them  in.  This,  with  what  was  mentioned  before,  was  all  their 
eea-stock.     As  she  went  off  the  blocks  she  was  named  the  Recovery. 

October  6th,  set  sail,  with  nothing  to  subsist  on  at  sea  but  the  before- 
mentioned  smoked  congers,  one  cask  of  beef,  and  four  live  hogs,  together 
with  three  or  four  bushels  of  farina.  They  were  upward  of  forty  persons 
crowded  together,  and  lying  upon  bundles  of  eels,  with  no  convenience 


GEORGE  SHELVOCK.  145 

of  keeping  the  men  clean,  nor  anything  to  defend  them  from  their  abomi- 
nable stench ;  not  a  drop  of  water  to  be  had  without  sucking  it  out  of 
the  cask  through  a  pipe,  which  being  used  promiscuously,  became  into- 
lerably nauseous.  All  the  conveniency  for  firing  was  a  half  tub  filled 
with  earth,  which  made  cooking  so  tedious,  that  they  had  a  continual 
noise  of  frying  from  morning  till  night.  On  the  fourth  day  they  fell  in 
with  a  large  ship,  plainly  European  built.  This  struck  them  with  the 
dread  of  her  being  a  man-of-war ;  but  their  case  being  desperate,  they 
stood  for  her,  when  the  enemy  discovering  the  brownness  of  their  can- 
vass, and  suspecting  them,  wore  ship,  and  hauled  close  on  a  wind  to  the 
westward.  In  the  meantime  the  English  overhauled  their  arms,  which 
were  found  in  a  very  bad  condition,  one-third  being  without  flints,  and 
they  had  but  three  cutlasses  ;  so  that  they  were  but  ill  prepared  for  board- 
ing, which  was  the  only  means  left  of  taking  any  ship.  They  had  but  one 
small  cannon,  which  could  not  be  mounted,  and,  therefore,  were  obliged 
to  fire  it  as  it  lay  upon  the  deck  ;  and  to  supply  it  had  no  more  ammuni- 
tion than  two  rounds  shot,  a  few  chain-bolts  and  bolt-heads,  the  clap- 
per of  the  Speedwell's  bell,  and  some  bags  of  beach-stones  to  serve  for 
partridge-shot.  As  they  advanced  nearer,  they  saw  her  guns  and  pata- 
raroes,  and  a  considerable  number  of  men  upon  deck,  with  their  arms 
glittering  in  the  sun,  who  called  out  by  the  name  of  English  dogs,  de- 
fying them,  in  a  scornful  way,  to  come  on  board,  and  at  the  same  time 
fired  a  volley  of  great  and  small  shot,  which  killed  the  gunner,  and  almost 
brought  the  fore-mast  by  the  board.  This  warm  reception  staggered  a 
great  many  of  the  men,  who  before  seemed  eager  to  advance,  insomuch 
that  they  lay  upon  their  oars  for  some  time.  They  recovered  themselves 
again,  however,  and  rowed  close  up  with  the  enemy,  engaging  them  till 
all  the  small  shot  was  expended,  which  obliged  the  adventurers  to  fall 
astern  to  make  slugs.  In  this  manner  they  made  three  attempts,  but 
with  no  better  success. 

Their  condition  now  grew  worse  and  worse  ;  for  after  parting  from  this 
ship,  a  hard  gale  came  on,  which  lasted  four  days  without  ceasing,  during 
all  which  time  they  had  not  a  hope  of  living  a  minute.  In  this  extremity, 
calling  to  mind  M.  Frezier's  account  of  Iquique,  the  surprisal  of  that 
place  was  proposed  to  the  crew,  which  being  universally  approved,  they 
Bteered  for  that  island.  It  was  three  weeks  before  they  got  there,  and 
having  nothing  to  ride  the  bark  with,  were  obliged  to  keep  the  sea,  while 
the  boat  went  in  between  the  rocks,  and  was  received  by  some  Indians 
on  the  strand  with  a  sort  of  welcome.  The  men,  being  landed,  went  to 
the  lieutenant's  house,  broke  it  open,  and  rummaged  the  whole  village, 
where  they  found  a  booty  more  valuable  at  that  time  than  gold  and  silver. 
It  consisted  of  about  sixty  bushels  of  wheat  flour,  120  of  calavances  and 
corn,  some  jerked  beef,  pork,  mutton,  and  other  useful  food.  Being  de- 
termined to  make  some  attempt  in  the  road  of  Le  Nasco,  in  latitude  IG 
degrees  south,  and  at  Pisco,  in  latitude  13  degrees  45  minutes  south, 
ihey  set  sail,  and  the  very  morning  they  came  off  Le  Nasco,  two  hours 
before  daylight,  fell  in  with  a  large  ship.  The  circumstances  of  the 
meeting  and  engaging  her  were,  in  some  measure,  the  same  with  those 
they  had  with  the  other  vessel.  The  next  day  they  stood  into  the  road 
of  Pisco,  as  designed,  and  discovered  what  appeared  to  be  a  large  ship. 
They  bore  down  with  a  resolute  despair,  and  laid  her  athwartwise  ; 
^ut  met  with  no  resistance,  and  were  received  by  the  captain  and  his 
officers  with  their  hats  off,  in  the  most  submissive  manner  asking  for 
quarter.     She  was  a  good  ship,  of  about  200  tons,  called  the  Jesua 

13 


146  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

Maria,  almost  laden  with  pitch,  tar,  copper,  and  plank,  but  nothing  felso. 
The  captain  offered  1600  dollars  for  her  ran&om,  but  they  could  not  give 
ear  to  it  in  the  condition  which  they  were  then  in. 

From  this  place  they  steered  for  the  Island  of  Gorgona,  in  the  Bay  of 
Panama.  In  the  way  made  the  Island  of  Plate,  Cape  St.  Francis,  and 
Gorgonella  ;  and,  on  December  2d,  came  to  anchor  to  the  leeward 
of  the  northernmost  point  of  Gorgona,  within  less  than  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  of  the  shore.  To  furnish  themselves  with  what  they  wanted,  S-hel- 
vock  proposed  a  descent  on  the  Island  of  Quibo,  in  latitude  7  degrees  40 
minutes  north,  where,  by  Captain  Rogers's  account,  it  was  believed  there 
must  be  inhabitants.  On  January  1 3th,  1721,  anchored  between  Quibo 
and  the  Isle  of  Quivetta,  in  a  sandy  bay,  commodious  for  wooding  and 
watering.  The  morning  after  their  arrival,  saw  two  large  piraguas  row-- 
ing  in  for  the  Isle  of  Quivetta,  one  with  Spanish  colours  flying.  Mr. 
Brooks,  the  first  lieutenant,  found  the  men  on  shore,  broughi  away  their 
piraguas,  and  two  prisoners. 

January  25th,  saw  a  sail  about  two  leagues  to  leeward,  and  gave  chase 
till  they  found  she  was  of  European  structure  ;  and,  fearing  she  might 
be  one  of  the  enemy's  ships-of-war,  hauled  on  a  wind.  Soon  after  saw 
a  boat  rowing  toward  them,  which  proved  to  be  the  Success's  pinnace, 
commanded  by  Mr.  Davidson,  their  first  lieutenant.  Their  first  interview 
with  him  was  attended  by  an  astonishment  equal  on  both  sides  ;  he  could 
hardly  believe  he  saw  them  in  so  mean  and  forlorn  a  condition  ;  and 
they  could  scarcely  believe  that  the  Success  (if  in  being)  had  been  all 
this  v/hile  wandering  up  and  down  these  seas. 

They  cruised  in  good  order,  and  with  a  great  deal  of  hope,  until  March 
17th,  without  success,  and  then,  owing  to  continual  quarrels,  separated, 
each  throwing  the  blame  upon  the  other  ;  but  it  must  be  confessed  that 
Shelvock  was  in  fault.  March  30th,  in  the  evening,  entered  the  road  of 
Sonsonnate,  and,  as  the  sun  set,  saw  a  ship  at  anchor.  It  being  a  moon- 
light night,  sent  the  first  lieutenant  to  discover  what  this  ship  might  be, 
when  it  appeared  she  was  a  large  one,  of  one  tier  of  guns  at  least.  At 
daylight  the  enemy  had  hoisted  a  jar  of  powder,  containing  about  ten 
gallons,  with  a  lighted  match  at  each  main  and  fore-yard-arm,  and  at  the 
bowsprit  end,  with  design  to  let  them  fall  on  the  decks  if  the  English 
boarded.  Seeing  them  so  desperate  in  their  preparations,  the  latter  ex- 
pected a  warm  dispute  ;  and,  by  what  they  could  see,  they  were,  in  all 
points,  superior  by  much  to  them  in  strength.  At  eleven  in  the  morning 
the  sea-breeze  came  in,  and  ran  Shelvock  upon  them  very  fast,  while 
his  small  arms  were  briskly  and  effectually  employed  to  break  their  powder 
jars  before  boarding,  which  they  did  without  delay,  and  after  the  exchange 
of  a  few  shot  when  on  board  of  each  other,  they  submitted.  The  ship  was 
called  the  Sacra  Familia,  of  300  tons,  six  guns,  and  seventy  men  ;  be- 
sides a  great  number  of  small  arms,  with  some  grenade-shells  and  shot. 

Unable  to  get  water,  they  were  reduced  to  a  pint  for  twenty-four  hours 
each  man,  and  then  directed  their  course  for  the  Gulf  of  Amapala,  which 
was  about  thirty-five  leagues  to  the  east-south-east  of  this  place,  in  order 
to  get  a  fresh  supply.  The  winds  were  favourable,  and  they  arrived  there 
on  the  10th  following,  in  the  evening.  As  soon  as  they  had  entered  the 
gulf,  they  found  themselves  in  the  midst  of  several  small  islands,  one  of 
which  was  the  Island  of  Tygers,  where  it  was  expected  to  find  water ; 
but  their  expectations  proved  vain,  for,  after  a  hazardous  and  fruitless 
search,  not  only  on  that  but  on  some  of  the  greenest  of  the  other  isles, 
there  was  not  the  least  drop  to  be  found  on  any  of  them.     After  suffer- 


GEORGE   SHELVOCK.  147 

bg  great  hardships,  they  were  fortunately  relieved  by  falling  in  unexpect- 
edly with  the  Island  of  Cano,  in  latitude  9  degrees  north,  where,  seeing  a 
run  of  water,  Mr.  Randall,  without  dreading  the  dangerous  surf,  passed 
through  the  breakers,  and,  to  the  unspeakable  joy  of  all  the  company,  soon 
returned  on  board  with  his  jars  filled. 

May  19th,  saw  a  sail  ahead  standing  along  shore,  and  being  desirous 
of  speaking  with  her,  made  all  the  sail  possible  in  chase.  They  gained 
very  little  upon  her  all  that  day  ;  but  had,  nevertheless,  got  a  great  way 
ahead  of  a  bark,  wherein  were  four  of  their  own  people  and  five  Spaniards. 
However,  notwithstanding  night  came  on,  all  sail  was  kept  abroad,  and 
next  morning  they  were  within  gun-shot  of  her.  The  captain  immedi- 
ately ordered  the  colours  to  be  spread,  fired  a  gun  to  leeward,  and  set  a 
man  to  wave  a  flag  of  truce  ;  but,  on  sijrht  of  the  English  ensign,  she 
fired  at  them,  and  so  continued  to' do,  with  her  decks  full  of  men,  abus- 
ing the  English  with  the  grossest  appellations.  The  latter  made  no 
return  until  close  upon  their  quarter,  and  then  one  of  their  countrymen 
was  sent  to  the  bowsprit  end  to  inform  them,  in  Spanish,  that  they  were 
bound  to  Panama,  and  desired  to  treat  peaceably,  and  hoped,  at  least, 
they  would  have  some  regard  to  the  white  flag  which  they  saw  flying ; 
but  they  still  continued  to  fire  ;  and  presuming,  by  their  quiet  behaviour, 
that  t.hey  were  unable  to  defend  themselves,  were  preparing  to  board, 
which  was  no  sooner  perceived  than  they  met  them  with  the  helm,  and 
gave  in  return  so  warm  a  salute  that  they  steered  round  off.  Shelvock 
just  missed  getting  hold  of  them,  but  it  falling  almost  immediately  calm, 
continued  the  engagement  for  the  space  of  two  or  three  hours  at  the 
distance  of  musket-shot.  At  length,  a  breeze  wafting  our  adventurers 
nearer  to  them,  their  courage  cooled.  The  captain,  however,  still  bravely 
encouraging  his  people,  and  exposing  himself  in  the  most  open  manner,  was 
shot  through  the  body,  and  dropped  down  dead  ;  upon  which  they  imme- 
diately, and  with  one  voice,  cried  out  for  quarter,  and  put  an  end  to  the 
dispute.  Mr.  Randall  and  two  or  three  more  went  on  board  the  prize 
and  found  the  prisoners  in  the  most  submissive  posture,  asking  for  mercy, 
which  was  granted,  though  they  had  no  great  reason  to  expect  it,  after  their 
direct  breach  of  the  laws  of  arms  and  nations  in  tiring  at  a  flag  of  truce. 

Winds  and  calms  prevented  their  joining  the  Holy  Sacrament,  the 
prize  left  behind,  till  May  22d,  when  they  bore  down,  and  were  surprised 
to  find  no  soul  on  board,  but  that  her  decks  and  quarters  .were  covered 
with  blood.  By  many  circumstances  it  plainly  appeared  that  the  Spa- 
nish crew  had  butchered  those  who  were  left  to  assist  thorn,  while  asleep  ; 
otherwise  it  could  not  have  happened,  that  five  unarmed  Spaniards  could 
have  overpowered  four  Englishmen  completely  provided  with  arms  for 
their  defence.  It  is  very  probable,  however,  that  these  murderers  paid 
with  their  lives  the  loss  of  those  lives  they  had  taken  away  ;  for,  being 
above  four  leagues  from  the  land,  and  having  no  boat  with  them,  they 
probably  jumped  into  the  sea  on  the  approach  of  the  English,  fearing,  if 
they  fell  into  their  hands,  to  meet  the  vengeance  due  for  so  horrid  a  crime. 
That  part  of  the  deck  which  was  dyed  with  gore  they  endeavoured  to 
cover,  by  throwing  the  flocks  and  stuffings  of  beds  over  it;  so  that  till 
these  were  removed,  the  blood  was  not  seen. 

Before  proceeding  any  farther,  it  was  necessary  to  get  in  a  full  stock 
of  water.  The  Island  of  Quibo  was  hazardous,  being  too  near  Panama; 
it  was,  therefore,  cjetermined  to  ply  up 'to  Cano,  where,  having  a  good  boat, 
they  soon  completed  their  business.  In  the  passage  thither  the  sweet- 
meats of  all  kinds,  taken  out  of  the  late  prize,  were  divided  among  the 


148  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

messes.  It  happened  that  one  of  the  men,  one  day,  complained  he  had 
a  box  of  marmalade  which  he  could  not  stick  his  knife  into,  and  desired 
it  might  be  changed.  On  opening  it,  there  was  found  a  cake  of  virgin 
silver,  moulded  on  purpose  to  fill  such  boxes,  and  being  very  porous,  was 
of  nearly  the  weight  of  so  much  marmalade.  In  overhauling  the  rest 
they  found  five  more  of  these  boxes.  This  was  a  contrivance  to  defraud 
the  King  of  Spain  of  his  fifths,  which  he  claims  in  all  the  silver  taken 
out  of  any  mines  in  Peru.  They  doubtless  left  a  great  many  of  these 
boxes  behind,  so  that  this  deceit  served  them  in  a  double  capacity,  to  de- 
fraud the  king's  officers,  and  blind  their  enemies. 

On  Sunday,  the  13th  of  August,  at  daybreak,  found  themselves  near 
Puerto  Seguro,  which  may  be  readily  known  by  three  white  rocks,  not  much 
unlike  the  Needles  of  the  Isle  of  Wight.,  and  you  must  keep  close  on  board 
the  outermost  to  fetch  into  the  bay.  They  entered,  surrounded  by  numbers 
of  small  embarkations  of  ihe  inhabitants,  while  the  shore,  on  all  sides, 
was  crowded  with  Indians,  whose  numbers  visibly  increased  by  multitudes 
which  flocked  together  from  the  adjacent  parts.  The  anchor  was  no 
sooner  down,  than  they  came  off  in  shoals,  some  few  on  their  bark-logs, 
but  most  of  them  swimming,  talking  and  calling  out  to  one  another  in  a 
noisy  and  confused  manner,  but  such  as  plainly  showed  how  desirous 
they  were  to  come  near.  Having  done  all  their  business  here  on  the 
18th  of  August,  in  the  morning,  prepared  for  their  departure  in  the  after- 
noon. They  employed  the  morning  in  making  a  large  distribution  of 
sugar  among  the  women.  To  the  men  they  gave  a  great  many  knives, 
old  axes,  and  old  iron,  taken  in  the  prizes.  These  were  the  most  use- 
ful things,  and  of  which  they  stood  most  in  need  ;  in  return  for  which, 
some  gave  bows  and  arrows,  deer's  skin  bags,  live  foxes,  squirrels,  and 
the  like.  A  great  many  of  the  men  staid  in  the  ship  all  the  while  they 
were  purchasing  the  anchor,  and  it  was  not  till  being  under  weigh  that 
they  jumped  overboard  to  join  in  the  lamentations  of  their  countrymen 
on  shore. 

On  the  21st  of  August  discovered  an  island,  bearing  westsouth-west, 
110  leagues  distant  from  Cape  St.  Lucar.  They  endeavoured  to  get  in 
with  it ;  but  night  coming  on,  could  not  lose  time  to  view  it.  This  isle 
the  people  called  after  the  captain.  From  hence,  they  steered  gradually 
into  the  parallel  of  13  degrees  north,  but  had  their  way  stopped  for  two 
or  three  days  by  westerly  winds.  About  a  fortnight  after  leaving  Cali- 
fornia, the  people,  who  had  hitherto  enjoyed  an  uninterrupted  state  of 
health,  began  to  be  afflicted  with  a  sickness  which  particularly  affected 
their  stomachs.  This  was  supposed  to  be  owing  to  the  quantities  of 
sweetmeats  they  were  continually  devouring,  together  with  the  dried  beef, 
half  devoured  with  ants,  cock-roaches,  and  other  vermin,  which  was  their 
daily  food.  They  now  shaped  a  course  for  the  Island  of  Formosa  ;  and 
though  the  length  of  the  voyage  was  decreasing  very  fast,  the  sickness 
was  daily  increasing  in  a  much  greater  proportion  ;  and  both  ship  and 
themselves  were  no  longer  fit  for  sea.  It  was  the  3d  of  November  be- 
fore they  had  sight  of  that  island,  and  the  10th  before  they  could  get  any 
sort  of  direotions  to  reach  the  intended  port.  At  length,  passing  through 
a  very  narrow  channel  between  a  couple  of  islands,  a  fisherman  took 
notice,  by  the  cautious  manner  of  working,  that  they  were  strangers,  and 
made  signs  to  bring  the  ship  to,  till  he  came  up ;  when  they  made  him 
understand  they  were  bound  to  Macao,  and  he  made  signs  that  he  would 
become  pilot  for  as  many  pieces  of  silver  as  he  counted  little  fish  out  of 
his  basket,  which  amounted  to  forty.     They  accordingly  counted  out 


JORIS  SPILBERGEN.  149 

forty  dollars  into  a  hat,  and  next  day  he  took  charge,  and  anchored  them 
•safe  in  the  road  of  Macao,  near  the  entrance  of  the  River  of  Canton. 

Soon  after  their  arrival,  there  came  off  a  great  many  of  the  Success's 
people  to  make  a  visit  to  their  friends,  who. were  very  glad  to  hear  their 
Btory.  Shelvock  was  now  informed  of  the  hoppo's  demand  for  anchorage 
In  tho  river,  which  was  no  less  than  6000  tahel,  on  account  of  his  sup- 
posed riches  ;  and  to  quicken  the  payment  of  this  exorbitant  sum,  there 
was  a  penalty  annexed  to  this  extortion  of  500  additional  tahel  for  every- 
day he  failed  in  the  payment  of  it.  So  that  they  recieved  from  him,  upon 
this  occasion,  the  full  sum  of  6500  tahel,  equal  to  £2166  135  Ad  EngHsh 
money.  Before  quitting  his  ship  he  sold  her  for  2000  tahel,  which  mo- 
ney and  the  rest  of  his  effects  were  consigned  to  the  India  Company. 
Toward  the  latter  end  of  December,  1V22,  he  sailed  in  the  Cadogan, 
commanded  by  Captain  John  Hill.  From  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  they 
had  an  agreeable  passage  to  the  Island  of  St.  Helena,  and  from  thence 
to  England. 


ADMIRAL  JORIS  SPILBERGEN.— 1614-17. 

[This  and  two  of  the  following  voyages,  Le  Maire  and  Schouten,  and 
L'Hcremite,  though  anterior  in  chronological  order  to  some  of  those  just 
given,  have  been  withheld,  in  order  to  give  in  regular  succession  those  of  the 
bucaniers  ;  men  who  have  been  celebrated  throughout  Europe,  whose  ex- 
ploits have  been  alternately  the  theme  of  history  and  fable,  and  whd,  with 
all  their  faults,  have  perhaps  powerfully  contributed  to  excite  that  nautical 
enthusiasm,  which  has  since  distinguished  our  country  over  all  the  nations 
of  the  world.] 

Js  the  year  1614  the  East  India  Company  of  Holland  equipped  a  fleet 
in  Europe,  which  was  intended  to  sail  for  the  Moluccas,  by  the  straits  of 
Magellan  and  the  South  Sea.  Joris  Spilbergen,  an  able  and  experienced 
seaman,  who  had  previously  conducted  a  fleet  to  the  East  Indies,  received 
the  command  of  this  with  the  title  of  admiral,  and  a  commission  from 
their  high-mightinesses  the  States-general.  The  fleet  now  fitted  out  con- 
sisted of  six  ships;  the  Sun,  (admiral's  ship)  the  Half-Moon,  the  CEnlus, 
the  Morning  Star,  the  Chaser,  and  Sea-gull ;  they  were  equally  supplied 
for  trade  or  for  war,  each  ship  having  merchants  and  supercargoes,  all 
matters  to  be  determined  by  a  council  of  the  mercantile  as  well  as  the 
nautical  officers. 

On  the  8th  of  August  quitted  the  Texel,  stopped  some  time  at  the 
Isle  of  Wight,  and  on  the  29th  of  September  found  floating  at  sea  a 
ship's  mast,  about  which  were  an  innumerable  quantity  of  fish  ;  the  ad- 
miral's ship,  in  picking  up  the  mast,  having  caught  enough  to  supply  200 
men.  October  the  3d,  passed  Madeira,  and  December  20th  anchored 
near  Ilha  Grande,  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  where  tents  were  erected  on. 
shore  for  the  sick,  with  a  strong  guard  of  soldiers  for  their  protection. 
Here  they  tried  to  water  the  fleet,  but  the  seamen  not  using  sufficient 
precaution,  three  boats  were  taken,  and  most  of  their  crev^^s  and  guards 
killed  by  the  Portuguese.  A  conspiracy  was  at  the  same  time  discovered 
in  the  Half-Moon,  some  of  the  seamen  of  which  ship,  in  conjunction  with 
some  of  those  of  the  Sea-gull,  intending  to  seize  on  those  vessels  and 
on  the  galliot,  and  desert  from,  the  fleet.  Two  of  the  mutineers  were 
condemned  by  the  council  and  executed,  and  the  crew  of  the  Sea-gull 
draughted  into  the  other  ships. 

13* 


150  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

On  the  26th  of  January,  1615.  a  Portuguese  vessel,  standing  in  fronts 
sea,  was  captured  ;  her  cargo  proved  of  httle  or  no  value,  but  the  men 
on  board  were  wished  to  be  exchanged  for  some  of  the  Dutch  prisoners 
taken  in  the  watering  party,  known  to  be  alive  ;  but  the  Portuguese  would 
not  accede  to  this  arrangement ;  on  which  the  prize  was  burnt,  and  the 
most  able  part  of  her  crew  compelled  to  serve  in  the  ships  of  the  fleet. 
On  the  31st  another  watering  party  was  attacked  by  the  enemy,  when 
four  Hollanders  were  killed,  but  succeeded  in  driving  back  the  assailants. 
February  4th,  the  fleet  proceeded  on  the  voyage,  Bay  de  Cordes,  in  the 
Strait  of  Magellan,  being  appointed  for  the  rendezvous  in  case  of  separa- 
tion. March  the  8th,  arrived  off  Virgin  Cape  :  on  the  17th  some  of  the 
ships  had  actually  gained  entrance  into  the  strait,  while  others  were  dri- 
ven off.  In  the  meantime,  when  thus  separated,  another  mutiny  broke 
out  in  the  Sea-gull,  and  the  command  wrested  from  the  officers  ;  but  the 
mutineers  becoming  intoxicated,  and  disagreeing  in  the  choice  of  a  new 
captain,  the  vessel  was  recovered,  and  the  two  principal  mutineers  were 
adjudged,  by  common  consent,  to  be  thrown  into  the  sea,  which  was 
immediately  executed,  and  an  attested  account  drawn  up  of  all  the  cir- 
cumstances. 

Winter  was  now  near  at  hand  ;  and  while  the  wind  continued  contrary, 
some  of  the  officers  and  merchants  inquired  of  the  admiral  what  route  he 
proposed  to  take,  if  the  fleet  should  not  be  able  to  accomplish  the  passage 
into  the  South  Sea  :  to  whom  the  admiral  replied,  "  I  have  no  other  orders 
than  to  sail  through  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  inasmuch  as  no  other  passage 
is  known  to  us  ;  I  therefore  command  you,  that  you  do  your  best  not  to 
separate  from  me."  On  the  29th  the  Sea-gull  was  missing,  though  in 
company  the  preceding  day,  and  it  was  apprehended  she  had  deserted 
the  fleet  intentionally. 

April  5th,  the  wind  being  favourable,  entered  the  strait.  Near  the  en- 
trance, on  the  land  of  Terra  del  Fuego,  was  seen  a  man  of  extraordinary 
stature,  who  kepjt  on  the  more  elevated  grounds  to  observe  the  ships. 
On  the  shore  of  the  continent  were  seen  ostriches,  which  ran  with  such 
swiftness,  that  a  horse  could  scarcely  have  overtaken  them  ;  and  on  an 
island  near  the  mouth  of  the  strait  were  found  two  dead  bodies  of  the 
natives,  wrapped  in  the  skins  of  penguins,  and  very  lightly  covered  with 
earth.  One  was  of  the  common  stature  ;  but  the  other,  it  is  stated,  two 
and  a  half  feet  longer. 

Many  natives  visited  the  fleet  in  the  Bay  of  Cordes,  where  the  fleet 
now  was,  to  whom  presents  of  trinkets  and  knives  were  made,  and  who 
in  return  gave  ornaments  of  mother-of-pearl ;  but  for  some  unknown 
reason,  they  afterward  discontinued  their  visits.  On  the  24th  quitted 
the  bay.  May  the  1st,  a  boat  having  been  sent  to  sound  before  the  fleet, 
some  of  the  crew  landed  to  shoot  birds,  when,  being  surprised  by  a  party 
of  natives,  two  were  killed.  On  the  6th  entered  the  South  Sea  with 
temperate  weather.  On  the  21st  gained  sight  of  the  coast  of  Chili,  and 
on  the  25th  anchored  near  the  east  side  of  the  Isle  of  Mocha,  half  a 
league  from  the  shore. 

Next  morning,  boats  being  sent  from  the  ships,  the  inhabitants  entered 
peaceably  into  the  trafic  with  the  Dutch,  bartering  their  sheep,  goats, 
poultry,  and  vegetables,  for  hatchets,  knives,  glass  beads,  and  other  Eu- 
ropean wares.  The  chief  of  the  island,  with  his  son,  visited  the  admiral, 
and  remained  all  night.  All  the  people  were  sociable  with  their  visiters, 
but  would  not  admit  them  into  their  houses,  nor  to  approach  their  women  ; 
the  things  to  be  disposed  of  being  all  brought  down  to  the  water-side. 


JORIS  8PILBERGEN.  151 

When  they  had  disposed  of  all  they  wished,  intimation  and  signs  were 
made  to  the  voyagers,  that  they  should  re-enter  their  boats  and  depart, 
with  which  desire  the  admiral  wisely  and  humanely  complied,  thus  part- 
ing with  mutual  esteem. 

On  the  29th  the  fleet  anchored  near  the  Isle  of  Santa  Maria,  when 
boats  were  despatched  to  try  whether  the  natives  would  enter  into  peace- 
able traffic  for  provisions  ;  but  it  was  found  there  were  Spaniards  on  the 
island.  A  negotiation  was,  however,  entered  into,  and  a  Spaniard  in- 
vited the  Dutch  officers  to  dinner.  When  the  guests  were  assembled,  the 
latter  as  sufldenly  broke  up,  either  suspecting  treachery  in  the  Spaniards, 
or  discovering  that  they  could  help  themselves,  probably  without  the  trou- 
ble of  a  formal  bargain.  Three  companies  of  soldiers  and  a  party  of  sea- 
men were  forthwith  landed,  who  set  fire  to  some  houses,  and  carried  off 
500  sheep,  with  a  quantity  of  wheat,  barley,  beans,  and  poultry.  From 
their  intended  host,  who  was  made  prisoner,  they  learned  that  the  Viceroy 
of  Peru  had  been  for  some  months  apprised  of  their  coming,  and  that  ia 
April  three  ships  had  been  at  Santa  Maria  in  search  of  them,  in  addition 
to  a  greater  force  which  was  preparing  at  Lima  for  their  destruction. 

Upon  this  intelligence,  Spilbergen,  with  the  consent  of  the  merchants, 
resolved  to  proceed  in  search  of  the  Spanish  fleet,  first  putting  his  own 
in  a  fit  state  to  meet  them.  June  the  1st,  sailed  toward  Lima.  At 
Conception  landed,  and  burnt  some  houses  ;  at  Valparaiso  the  enemy  set 
fire  to  one  of  their  own  vessels  to  prevent  her  falling  into  the  hands  of 
the  Dutch.  At  Quintero  stopped  to  take  in  water,  which  was  obliged 
to  be  done  under  cover  of  works  thrown  up  for  the  purpose  of  covermg 
the  party  thus  employed.  Wild  horses  were  at  first  seen  here  near  the 
river,  but  they  soon  fled  on  finding  iheir  haunts  discovered ;  two  of  the 
Portuguese  prisoners  taken  at  Brazil  were  put  on  shore  here.  July  the 
16th,  having  advanced  beyond  Arequipa,  they  took  a  small  vessel  from  that 
place,  bound  to  Callao,  with  a  cargo  of  olives  and  a  round  sum  of  money, 
but  this  being  embezzled  by  the  immediate  captors,  the  exact  amount  was 
not  known,  nor  had  they  time  to  inquire  into  it,  as  on  the  same  day  the 
Spanish  fleet,  consisting  of  eight  sail,  appeared  in  sight. 

These  were  the  Santa  Maria,  the  admiral's  ship,  mounting  twenty-four 
guns,  and  460  persons,  but  of  these  there  were  100  servants ;  Santa 
Anna,  of  fourteen  guns  and  300  men  ;  Carmel,  of  eight  guns  and  250 
men  ;  Santiago,  of  eight  guns  and  200  men  ;  Rosaria,  of  four  guns  and 
150  men  ;  the  other  three  had  no  cannon,  but  were  filled  with  musketry. 
All  the  17th  the  two  fleets  endeavoured  to  approach  each  other,  but  were 
prevented  by  the  lightness  of  the  winds  during  daylight.  The  Spanish 
commander,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  his  second,  determined  on  a  night 
attack,  and  about  ten  o'clock  closed  with  the  Dutch  admiral's  ship,  when 
they  hailed  each  other,  and  had  some  conversation  before  a  shot  was  fired, 
but  this  conference  was  soon  terminated  for  one  of  a  less  amicable  nature. 
The  attack  commenced  with  musketry,  followed  by  a  lively  discharge  of 
the  great  guns.  The  ships  of  both  squadrons  came  up  in  succession, 
but,  from  the  calmness  of  the  v,reather,  the  admirals  remained  for  a  long 
time  opposed  to  each  other,  and  during  this  time  the  cannonade  was  ac- 
companied by  the  continual  sounding  of  tambours  and  trumpets.  After- 
ward the  action  became  more  general,  but  the  night  becoming  very  dark, 
the  fleets  gradually  separated,  the  ships  of  both  being  much  dispersed. 
One  Spanish  vessel,  named  the  San  Francisco,  armed  with  musketry, 
was,  however,  sunk. 

At  daylight  next  morning,  the  Spanish  admiral  and  his  second  were 


152  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

widely  separated  from  their  other  ships,  of  which  Spilbergen  took  advan- 
tage, and  they  had  thus  to  sustain  nearly  the  whole  fire  of  iheir  adversary  ; 
two  of  their  ships  are  accused  of  having  kept  wholly  out  of  the  action. 
The  Spanish  admirals  finding  themselves  overmatched,  endeavoured  to 
escape,  but  the  Santa  Anna  being  closely  pressed,  it  was  necessary  for 
Don  llodrigo  de  Mendo^a  to  wait  for  and  assist  her.  At  length,  being 
in  danger  of  sinking,  she  submitted,  when  the  Spanish  admiral  made  sail 
and  got  off.  Two  boats  were  sent  directly  on  board  the  prize,  with  one 
of  the  captains  of  the  Dutch  fleet,  who  was  directed  to  return  with  the 
Spanish  vice-admiral,  but  that  officer,  Pedro  Alvarez  de  Pilgar,  conceived 
it  would  detract  from  his  honour  to  quit  his  ship  in  the  night,  unless  the 
Dutch  commander  would  come  for  him  in  person.  Finding  him  immovea- 
ble in  this  resolution,  the  Dutch  officer  returned,  when,  before  any  other 
arrangement  had  taken  place,  the  prize  went  down  with  most  of  her  crew, 
and  among  others  her  captain,  who  thus  fell  a  victim  to  a  foolish  punctilio. 
Next  morning  others  of  the  Spaniards  were  in  sight,  but  not  the  admiral, 
60  that,  as  the  night  was  calm,  it  is  supposed  she  also  sunk.  The  Dutch 
lost  forty  killed,  and  between  fifty  and  sixty  wounded  in  this  action. 

The  victorious  fleet  sailed  directly  for  Callao,  but  the  batteries  proved 
too  strong  to  enable  it  to  assault  fourteen  sail  of  shipping,  drawn  up  un- 
der them  i  and  quitting  this  place,  sailed  northward,  when  a  small  vessel, 
laden  with  salt  and  sugar,  fell  into  their  hands.  On  the  8th  of  August 
anchored  near  Paita,  when  the  town  was  plundered  and  burnt,  though 
neither  money  nor  many  valuables  were  among  the  booty  ;  here  they  re- 
mained several  days,  when  Spilbergen  received  a  present  of  fruits  from 
Donna  Paula,  the  wife  of  the  governor,  with  a  request  that  he  would 
release  some  of  the  prisoners  taken  in  the  action,  an  entreaty  which  was 
not  refused.  The  quantity  of  provisions  on  board  being,  however,  insuf- 
ficient, boats  were  sent  to  the  isles  of  Lobos,  near  Paita  Bay,  to  procure 
sea-calves,  but  the  seamen  not  relishing  them,  this  practice  was  soon  after 
discontinued.  At  this  place,  the  voyagers  relate  that  their  men  caught 
two  birds  nearly  two  ells  in  height ;  they  had  the  beak,  wings,  and  talons 
of  an  eagle  ;  the  neck,  like  that  of  a  sheep  ;  and  on  the  head  a  crest, 
resembling,  in  some  degree,  the  comb  of  a  cock.  A  tender  to  the  fleet 
took  a  balza,  something  like  a  raft,  used  by  the  native  Peruvians,  and 
on  which  they  go  to  sea ;  this  had  been  out  two  months  fishing,  and  having 
salted  a  large  quantity,  the  prize  was  valuable  to  the  Hollanders. 

On  the  21st  of  August  they  quitted  Paita,  proceeding  northward,  when 
it  was  resolved  in  council  to  steer  for  the  Isle  of  Cocos,  at  which  place 
they  were  led  to  expect  refreshments  ;  the  weather,  however,  proving 
tempestuous,  it  could  not  be  found  ;  and  they  then  determined  to  sail  for 
the  coast  of  New  Spain.  On  the  10th  of  October  anchored  near  the 
entrance  to  the  port  of  Acapulco,  and  next  day  the  fleet  stood  in,  when 
the  citadel  fired  some  shots,  but  on  the  Dutch  commander  displaymg  a 
flag  of  truce  for  an  armistice,  it  was  discontinued,  and  neither  party  re- 
ceived or  offered  farther  molestation.  Each,  however,  kept  ready  to  repel 
treachery.  On  the  12th  a  treaty  was  concluded  with  the  governor,  the 
terms  of  which  were  that  no  hostility  should  be  committed  on  either  side ; 
that  the  admiral  shouldTelease  all  his  Spanish  prisoners  ;  and  that  the 
Spaniards  should  furnish  the  fleet  with  thirty  oxen,  fifty  sheep,  a  large 
quantity  of  poultry,  fruits,  wood,  and  water.  By  this  amicable  arrange- 
ment both  were  benefited,  one  saving  their  town,  the  other  gaining  more 
by  forbearance  than  they  could  by  hostility  ;  and  the  agreement  was  faith- 
fully fulfilled  on  both  side?. 


JORIS  SPILBERGEN.  l53 

On  the  18th  of  October  sailed  from  this  port ;  26th,  captured  a  vessel 
of  little  value,  except  a  few  provisions.  November  the  10th,  anchored 
before  the  port  of  Salugua,  and  two  boats  were  sent  into  that  hrirbour 
to  examine  a  river,  which  was  reported  by  the  prisoners  to  abound  with 
good  fish,  and  its  banks  with  citron  and  other  fruit  trees  ;  and,  at  two 
leagues  distant,  meadows  with  cattle  grazing.  The  place  corresponded 
with  the  description  given,  but  the  Dutch  had  the  prudence  not  to  land, 
numerous  footsteps  of  men  who  wore  shoes  being  everywhere  percepti- 
ble, though  previously  informed  that  Indians  only  frequented  the  neigh- 
bourhood. 

Next  day  the  admiral  proceeded  thither  with  200  men,  but  were  attack- 
ed, notwithstanding  their  numbers,  as  soon  as  landed,  by  a  strong  body 
of  Spaniards,  who  had  concealed  themselves  in  the  woods.  These  were, 
however,  repulsed  after  a  smart  conflict,  but  not  without  the  loss  of  two 
men  killed  and  seven  wounded  on  the  part  of  the  Dutch,  who,  afraid  of 
being  entrapped,  and  having  their  ammunition  expended  in  the  engage- 
ment, re-embarked  for  the  ships.  On  the  15th  sailed  for  Port  de  Navi- 
dad,  three  or  four  German  leagues  distant,  where  they  ^watered  without 
molestation  ;  and  on  the  20th  quitted  it,  intending  to  cruise  off  Cape 
San  Lucas,  for  the  chance  of  meeting  with  vessels  from  Manilla  ;  but 
the  winds  proving  unfavourable,  it  was  at  length  determined  to  prosecute 
the  voyage  to  the  East  Indies,  leaving  the  coast  of  America  December 
the  3d  for  the''Ladrone  islands,  with  a  fine  wind,  sleering  west-south- 
west. On  the  3d  saw  two  islands,  much  to  the  surprise  of  the  pilots,  who 
did  not  expect  to  see  any  here,  at  so  small  a  distance  from  the  main  land. 

At  daylight,  on  the  4lh,  saw  a  rock  at  a  great  distance,  which  was  at 
first  mistaken  for  a  ship  ;  but  on  a  nearer  view  were  undecieved,  and 
much  annoyed  at  their  disappointment ;  this  rock  is  situated  in  latitude 
19  degrees,  and  is  distant  from  the  continent  fifty-five  German  leagues. 
On  the  6lh,  at  noon,  latitude  observed  18  degrees  20  minutes  north  ;  this 
same  day  was  discovered  another  island,  having  five  hills,  each  of  which 
had  at  first  the  semblance  of  being  a  distinct  island  ;  these  islands  were 
respectively  Santo  Tomas  of  Grijalvo,  Santo  Tomas  of  Villabasa,  Roca 
Partida,  and  La  Aunublada,  so  called  by  the  Spaniards. 

From  this  time  to  the  1st  of  January,  1 6 Ifi,  they  steered  toward  the 
west,  by  south  and  west-south-west,  with  a  favourable  wind,  having,  how- 
ever, many  sick  on  board,  besides  several  who  died.  On  the  2:Jd  made 
the  Ladrone  islands,  where  they  trafficked  for  provisions  ;  and  on  the  9th 
of  February  came  in  sight  of  the  Philippines  ;  the  ships  of  Spilbergeri 
passing  through  the  channel  of  San  Bernardino  about  the  end  of  the 
month,  anchored  before  the  Bay  of  Manilla,  where  it  was  intended  to  re- 
main till  the  middle  of  April,  as  rich  trading  vessels  from  China  were  ex- 
pected to  arrive  near  that  time.  Here  they  captured  a  number  of  small 
vessels,  laden  with  fruits,  poultry,  and  provisions  of  various  kinds  ;  some 
being  Chinese,  and  some  Japanese,  as  well  as  Spaniards,  but  they  were 
all  equally  seized,  and  distributed  to  the  fleet,  the  prisoners  only  being 
released. 

Intelligence  was  received  by  Spilbergen,  in  the  beginning  of  March, 
that  all  the  naval  force  which  the  Spaniards  could  muster  at  Manilla  had 
been  sent  to  the  Molucca  islands  to  oppose  the  Dutch ;  that  this  force 
consisted  of  ten  large  and  eight  small  vessels,  in  which  troops  were  em- 
barked, besides  many  foreigners  ;  and  that  they  had  left  Manilla  the  4th 
of  February.  A  council  was  immediately  summoned,  when  it  was  re- 
solved, without  delay,  to  proceed  to  the  assistance  of  their  countrymen  ; 


154  I'OYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

but,  previous  to  their  departure,  one  of  the  small  prizes,  manned  with  a 
Chinese  crew,  was  despatched  to  Manilla  with  a  letter  to  the  governor, 
in  which  the  admiral  offered  to  exchange  his  prisoners  for  any  native  of 
Holland  who  might  be  detained  there.  On  the  8th  took  four  champans, 
a  kind  of  coasters,  laden  with  provisions  ;  and  two  days  afterward,  re- 
ceiving no  answer  to  their  proposition,  set  sail  for  the  Moluccas,  where 
they  arrived  (at  Ternate)  on  the  29th. 

Spilbergen  here  was  of  the  greatest  service  to  his  country  as  a  warrior, 
merchant,  and  negotiator,  remaining  near  these  islands  till  toward  the 
end  of  the  year,  when  he  set  sail  for  Europe,  where  he  arrived  with  safe- 
ty, and  in  credit  for  the  services  he  had  rendered.  The  journalist  of  his 
voyage  relates  a  very  interesting  fact,  not  recorded  in  any  other  histo- 
ry of  that  period,  that  the  Dutch  company  had  3000  troops,  and  thirty- 
seven  sail  of  European  shipping,  besides  country  vessels,  in  the  East 
Indies,  in  July,  1616  ;  a  force  which  two  or  three  years  after,  no  doubt, 
encouraged  them  to  commit  the  barbarous  massacre  of  Amboyna  upon 
our  unfortunate  countrymen. 


JACOB  LE  MAIRE  AND  WILHELM  CORNELISZ 
SCHOUTEN.— 1G15-17. 

A  BELIEF  that  to  the  south  of  the  Strait  of  Magellan  there  would  he 
found  an  open  sea,  or  some  other  passage  leading  to  the  South  Sea,  had 
many  years  been  gradually  gaining  ground,  when  a  company  of  merchants 
determined  to  make  the  experiment,  which,  if  successful,  would  open  to 
them,  as  they  believed,  the  trade  to  India  by  a  new,  instead  of  an  inter- 
dicted passage,,  which  Magellan's  discovery  it  seems  then  was.  In  case 
of  success,  they  asked  permission  from  the  States-general  to  an  exclusive 
trade,  for  the  first  six  voyages,  by  any  new  channels  or  countries  they 
might  discover,  who,  however,  as  a  general  decree,  granted  four  such 
voyages  to  any  of  their  subjects  who  might  prove  so  fortunate. 

Jacob  lo  Maire,  son  of  Isaac  le  Maire,  the  principal  member  of  the 
company,  was  appointed  principal  merchant  and  president  of  the  ships  ; 
and  Wilhelm  Cornelisz  Schouten,  an  able  seaman,  received  the  charge 
of  patron  or  master-mariner,  with  a  license  from  the  Prince  of  Orange. 
The  vessels  fitted  out  by  the  Compagnie  Australe  or  Southern  Company 
for  this  purpose,  were  the  Eendracht,  a  ship  of  360  tons,  nineteen  guns, 
and  sixty-five  men,  and  a  galliot,  named  the  Home,  of  110  tons,  eight 
guns,  and  twenty -two  men.  The  president,  Le  Maire,  and  Patron  Schou- 
ten sailed  in  the  former;  the  latter  was  commanded  by  Jan  Schouten, 
brother  to  the  patron,  with  Adrian  Claesz  as  principal  merchant. 

June  the  14th,  1615,  quitted  the  Texel,  and  in  three  days  anchored  in 
the  Downs,  where  an  English  gunner  was  hired.  On  the  30th  of  August 
dropped  anchor  in  the  road  of  Sierra  Leone,  where  a  stock  of  25,000 
lemons  was  purchased  from  the  natives  for  a  few  beads.  On  the  5th  of 
October  were  in  latitude  4  degrees  17  minutes  north,  when  a  great  noise 
was  heard  on  board  the  Eendracht,  seeming  to  proceed  from  the  fore-part 
of  the  ship,  and  immediately  after  the  sea  around  them  became  as  red  as 
if  blood  had  been  effused  into  it.  Afterward  a  piece  of  the  horn  of  some 
sea  animal  was  found  sticking  in  the  bottom  of  the  ship,  seven  feet  below 
the  water-line,  having  penetrated  through  the  planking,  and  into  one  of 
the  ribs,  about  the  same  length  remained  without ;  it  was  nearly  of  the 
shape  and  thickness  of  the  end  of  an  elephant's  tooth.     On  the  lOth 


LE  MAIRE  AND  SCHOUTEN.  155 

caught  dorados  or  dolphins,  and  about  forty  bonetas  ;  on  the  20th  crossed 
the  equinoctial  line,  and  five  days  after  the  plan  of  the  voyage  was  made 
known  publicly,  for  the  first  time,  to  the  officers  and  seamen  cf  both  vessels. 

On  the  4th  of  December  struck  soundings  in  seventy-five  fathoms 
depth,  and  two  days  after  saw  the  American  coast.  On  the  8th  an- 
chored in  Port  Desire,  where  they  took  a  large  supply  of  sea-lions,  pen- 
guins, birds  of  many  species,  eggs,  and  fish  ;  some  of  the  former  were 
sixteen  feet  in  length,  and  were  killed  by  shooting  them  through  the  head 
or  belly  ;  there  were  also  taken  in  one  day,  two  tons  of  smelts,  many  of 
them  sixteen  inches  in  length  :  all  the  water,  however,  was  brackish. 
Upon  the  summits  of  the  hills  were  observed  mounds  of  stones,  remarked 
in  Oliver  Van  Noort's  voyage,  under  which  were  found  the  bodies  of  the 
natives,  without  any  grave.  On  the  19ih  the  Home  caught  fire,  and 
was  totally  consumed.  Soon  afterward,  however,  they  found  better  wa- 
ter, by  watching  the  tracks  of  animals  toward  two  pools,  where,  by  dig- 
ging, they  procured  four  tons,  and  subsequently  ten  more.  To  prepare 
for  a  stormy  latitude,  the  guns  were  struck  into  the  hold.  On  the  13tli 
of  January,  1616,  the  Eendracht  quitted  Port  Desire. 

On  the  20th,  at  noon,  passed  the  latitude  of  the  entrance  of  the  straits 
of  Magellan,  and  by  estimation  were  twenty  leagues  distant  from  the  land 
of  Terra  del  Fuego  ;  at  three  p.  m.  next  day  saw  it ;  directed  their  course 
east-south-east  with  the  hope,  as  they  expressed  it,  to  arrive  at  the  end 
of  the  land.  On  the  24th,  at  daybreak,  saw  Terra  del  Fuego  to  the 
right  hand,  not  more  than  a  league  off;  sailed  along  it,  and  saw  another 
country  to  the  east,  likewise  high  and  mountainous ;  judging  these  lands 
to  be  eight  leagues  distant  from  each  other,  and  a  passage  between  them, 
because  the  tide  ran  violeptly  toward  the  south.  Here  were  many  pen- 
guins, and  a  multitude  of  whales  ;  the  land  to  the  east  was  named  Staten- 
land  ;  no  trees  were  visible  on  either  side,  and  the  sea-birds,  unaccustomed 
10  see  men,  alighted  in  the  ship  without  dread.  On  the  evening  of  the 
25th  the  wind,  which  had  been  fair,  became  contrary,  but  they  had  good 
evidence  of  a  wide  sea  before  them,  by  the  colour  of  the  water  and  the 
long  swell  from  the  south-west. 

On  the  29th  passed  to  the  north  of  some  rocky  islets,  which  they 
named  isles  of  Barneveldt ;  Terra  del  Fuego  appeared  to  the  west-north- 
west and  west,  all  hilly  land  covered  with  snow,  with  a  sharp  point  which 
they  called  Cape  Home,  in  honour  of  the  town  of  Home,  in  West  Fries- 
land,  of  which  the  patron  was  a  native.  On  the  30th,  having  passed  to 
the  south  of  the  cape,  steered  west,  encountering  great  waves,  with  a 
current  to  the  westward.  Next  day  saw  no  land.  February  the  3d  were 
in  latitude  59  degrees  30  minutes  south,  highest  point  to  the  southward  ; 
weather  stormy  and  wet.  On  the  12th,  reckoned  themselves  in  the  lati- 
tude of  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  for  joy  of  which  triple  allowance  of  wine 
was  given  to  the  seamen  ;  and,  in  council,  it  was  resolved  to  give  the 
name  of  Le  Maire  to  the  strait  through  which  they  had  passed.  The 
ship  continued  to  advance  northward,  and  in  40  degrees  south  the  guns 
were  replaced  on  the  deck. 

On  the  1st  of  March  made  the  Islands  of  Juan  Fernandez  and  Masa 
Fuero,  caught  two  tons  of  fish,  but  could  not  find  the  anchorage.  April 
the  10th,  saw  a  small  low  island  to  the  north-north-west,  and  landed 
with  difficulty  on  account  of  the  surf;  the  centre  appeared  as  if  over- 
flowed at  high  water,  and  three  dogs  were  found  which  could  not  bark ; 
though  no  human  creature  lived  here,  it  was  named  Houden  Eyland. 
On  the  14th  saw  land  extending  north-east  and  south-west,  on  which 


158  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

were  many  trees  ;  a  canoe  came  off  with  four  people  of  a  copper  colour, 
quite  naked,  who  stopped  at  a  distance,  making  signs  for  the  voyagers 
to  go  on  shore.  On  the  loth  the  natives  on  shore  waved  their  garments 
and  boughs  of  trees  in  the  air  to  invite  their  visiters  on  shore,  and  three 
men  came  in  a  canoe  to  meet  the  boat  from  the  Eendracht,  one  of  whom 
came  on  the  quarter-gallery,  and  his  first  business  was  to  draw  out  the 
naiis  and  iron  fastenings,  which  he  endeavoured  to  hide  in  his  hair ;  while 
a  silver  cup  given  him  to  drink  out  of  could  scarcely  be  got  back,  he 
thinking  it  well  as  the  liquor  equally  a  present.  From  these  people  it 
was  understood  there  were  hogs,  fowls,  and  cocoa  nuts  in  abundance 
upon  the  island,  to  which  some  men  were  proposed  to  be  sent  if  a  hos- 
tage would  be  left  for  their  safe  return,  but  to  this  the  islanders  would 
not  consent. 

The  ship's  boat  was,  therefore,  sent  with  fourteen  men  well  armed,  and 
vAdrien  Claesz,  the  merchant,  to  try  if  provisions  could  be  obtained. 
Immediately  on  their  landing,  about  thirty  natives  issued  from  the  woods, 
armed  with  large  clubs,  who  pressed  round  the  Dutch,  and  endeavoured 
to  take  both  their  merchandise  and  arms  ;  while  some  dragged  two  sea- 
men out  of  the  boat,  apparently  intending  to  carry  them  off;  to  prevent 
which,  two  muskets  were  fired  over  their  heads,  which  put  them  to  flight. 
In  the  beginning  of  this  affray,  several  of  the  women  came  and  threw 
their  arms  around  the  necks  of  the  men,  and  by  angry  speeches,  to  draw 
them  away  in  vain.  No  farther  intercourse  took  place  ;  these  men  were 
robust  and  corpulent,  their  ears  pierced,  their  weapons  slings,  clubs,  and 
spears  ;  their  dress,  a  piece  of  matting  round  the  middle,  which  in  the 
women  reached  from  the  waist  below  the  knee.  This  was  called  Son- 
dergrondt  (without  bottom)  Island,  from  finding  no  good  anchorage. 

On  the  16th  another  island  was  discovered  to  the  north,  which,  like 
the  former,  was  low  and  woody,  with  a  salt  water  lake  in  the  middle, 
and  trees,  but  none  bearing  fruit.  From  finding  water  here,  it  was  called 
Waterlandt  Island.  Two  days  after  another  low  island  was  visible,  dis- 
tant about  twenty  leagues  from  the  former  ;  natives  were  seen  here,  but 
no  intercourse  took  place  with  them  ;  it  was  termed  Vlieghen,  or  Fly 
Island. 

May  the  8th,  latitude  15  degrees  20  minutes  south,  the  distance  from 
the  coast  of  Peru  computed  to  be  1510  German  leagues.  Saw  a  sail 
standing  across  them  to  the  north,  which  was  first  taken  to  be  a  Spaniard, 
but  a  little  more  observation  showed  it  did  not  belong  to  Europeans  ; 
they  steered  for  it,  and  after  firing  two  or  three  guns  to  bring  her  to,  the 
meaning  of  which  was  not  understood,  a  boat  was  despatched,  which 
inconsiderately  fired  musketry  at  the  strangers,  one  of  whom  being 
wounded  in  the  shoulder,  leaped  into  the  sea.  The  rest  dreading  similar 
treatment  as  soon  as  the  boat  came  near,  also  threw  themselves  in,  first 
throwing  all  their  little  stock  of  provisions  and  furniture  before  them  ; 
one  of  these  men,  fifteen  or  sixteen  in  all,  took  an  infant  with  him  ;  two 
only  remained  in  the  canoe,  with  eight  women  and  several  children  ;  but 
the  boat  afterward  went  to  the  relief  of  the  Indians  in  the  water,  though 
unfortunately  several  were  drowned. 

Every  amends  they  could  was  afterward  made  for  this  unhappy  occur- 
rence ;  the  wounded  were  dressed,  presents  were  given  them,  and  all 
were  restored  to  their  canoe,  upon  which  the  women  expressed  extrava- 
gant joy.  These  people  were  of  a  light  copper  colour,  their  clothing  4 
slight  covering  round  the  middle,  and  the  hair  of  the  women  cut  short  ; 
they  had  quite  consumed  their  stock  of  fresh  water,  as  well  as  the  milk 


LE  MAIRE  AND  SCHOUTEN.  157 

horn  the  cocoa  nuts.  The  vessel  navigated  by  these  islanders  was 
formed  of  two  large  and  handsome  canoes,  placed  parallel  at  the  distance 
of  a  fathom  and  a  half ;  in  the  middle  of  each  was  a  broad  thick  plank 
of  red  wood  on  its  edge,  across  which,  from  one  to  the  other,  were  small 
beams  surmounted  by  a  platform,  with  a  shed  of  matting,  under  which 
•were  placed  the  women  and  children.  There  was  but  one  mast  and  one 
sail,  the  latter  of  matting,  and  having  on  its  upper  part  a  figure  like  that 
of  a  cock,  intended  perhaps  to  distinguish  to  what  island  the  vessel  be- 
longed. Their  cordage  was  well  made  ;  they  were  also  provided  with 
fishing-tackle,  the  hooks  being  formed  of  stone,  and  the  bearded  portion 
of  bone,  or  tortoise  shell.  Everything  was  neat  and  well  adapted  for  sea 
about  this  little  vessel. 

On  the  10th  a  high  island  was  seen  bearing  south-west  by  south,  and 
shortly  afterward  another  near  it,  long  and  more  level  in  its  surface  ;  two 
fishing  canoes  carried 'lights  in  the  night,  one  of  which  came  to  the  ship 
^ext  morning,  to  the  people  of  whom  beads  and  other  trinkets  were 
thrown,  but  they  would  not  come  on  board.  As  soon  as  the  Eendracht 
had  reached  the  northernmost  island,  which  was  named  Cocos,  and  an- 
chored, three  large  sailing  canoes  and  several  smaller  ones  came  near 
her,  the  people  of  whom,  after  holding  out  a  white  flag,  which  was  duly 
answered,  ventured  on  board,  and  were  highly  amused  by  one  of  the  sai- 
lors playing  the  fiddle,  200  cocoa  nuts,  besides  yams,  were  brought  on 
board  the  same  evening,  in  exchange  for  nails  and  beads,  and  the  visiters 
proved  so  numerous  that  the  voyagers  could  scarcely  stir  about  on  board, 
in  addition  to  which,  everything  portable,  even  to  the  cannon  balls,  was 
stolen.  These  men  were  large  and  robust,  their  ears  sUt,  and  their  bo- 
dies tattooed ;  a  boat  sent  to  examine  the  southern  island  was  boarded  by  a 
number  of  canoes  which  surrounded  her  on  every  side,  and  seized  the  pilot's 
lead,  but  one  being  killed  by  a  musket  shot  caused  the  others  to  retire. 

Next  morning,  (12th,)  many  canoes  came  early  to  the  ship  with  cocoa 
nuts,  bananas,  yams,  and  small  hogs,  the  men  taking  their  goods  often 
in  their  teeth  and  diving  under  the  other  canoes  in  order  to  get  on  board, 
being  otherwise  unable  to  reach  the  ship  from  the  numbers  around  her. 
A  canoe  came  also  from  the  southern  island  with  a  present,  from  the  king, 
of  a  young  pig,  a  cock,  and  a  hen,  who  followed  soon  his  gift  in  a  large 
sailing  vessel,  seated  under  an  awning,  and  attended  by  his  chiefs  and 
people  of  consequence,  besides  thirty-five  other  canoes  in  waiting.  As 
he  approached  he  uttered  a  prayer  several  times,  joined  by  his  attendants, 
who  passed  their  hands  over  their  heads  to  the  back  of  the  neck.  The 
Dutch  on  their  part  sounded  their  drums  and  trumpets  to  honour  their 
visiter,  whose  messengers  cleared  the  ship  of  the  other  natives,  repeat- 
ing the  word  "/anow,"  while  a  present  was  sent  to  him. 

This  personage,  who  it  seems  was  not  the  king,  but  his  son,  was  called 
Latou,  who,  after  reciprocal  civilities,  came  on  board,  and  retired  repeat- 
ing the  same,  inviting  them  to  visit  the  southernmost  island,  and  pro- 
mising a  plentiful  supply  of- provisions.  Early  on  the  13th  nearly  fifty 
canoes  had  arrived  at  the  vessel,  bringing  hogs,  fowls,  and  fruits  for  traffic, 
soon  after  which  twenty-three  large  sailing  canoes  surrounded  the  ship, 
which  to  the  Dutch  had  a  suspicious  appearance.  Each  of  these  had 
about  twenty-five  men  ;  and  one  of  the  largest,  which  appeared  to  com- 
mand the  others,  had  the  figure  of  a  cock  on  her  sail  in  red  and  gray 
colours ;  several  of  the  natives  repeated  their  advice  to  carry  the  ship 
to  the  other  island,  and  the  son  of  Latou  again  came  close,  but  declined 
tn  invitation  on  board. 

14 


158  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

At  this  time,  symptoms  appeared  as  if  they  were  putting  their  fleet  in 
order  of  battle,  upon  which  the  Eendracht  weighed.  The  Latou  was 
himself  with  his  fleet,  when  both  he  and  his  son  quitting  the  large  canoes 
for  small  ones,  an  attack  was  commenced  with  huge  stones  amid  inces- 
sant shouts  ;  the  principal  vessel  of  the  natives  was  impelled  forward 
against  the  Dutch  ship,  but  of  course  did  no  injury,  while  she  was  bro- 
ken to  pieces,  and  the  people,  among  whom  were  many  women,  precipi- 
tated into  the  water.  The  great  guns  and  musketry  soon  dispersed- this 
armament,  which  consisted  of  not  less  than  1000  men,  the  king  having 
doubtless  mustered  his  whole  force.  The  president  would  not  stop  here 
any  longer ;  and,  on  account  of  the  treacherous  conduct  of  the  people, 
the  southernmost  was  named  Traitor's  Island- 
Next  morning  (14th)  land  was  seen  ahead,  which,  in  expectation  of 
finding  water,  was  named  Good  Hope  Island  ;  it  was  only  two  leagues 
in  diameter,  but  had  many  trees  and  habitations  ;  the  natives  coming  in 
canoes  to  barter  fish  for  trinkets.  While  a  boat  was  employed  in  sound- 
ing, fourteen  canoes  surrounded  and  attempted  to  board  her,  but  were 
repulsed  by  musketry,  and  two  islanders  shot.  The  rest  being  terrified 
at  what  they  saw,  fled  to  the  shore,  calling  aloud,  Bou  !  Bou  !  imitating 
the  report  of  the  muskets,  to  inform  their  friends  on  shore  what  had 
happened.  On  the  18th  shaped  their  course  to  the  northward,  being 
now  1550  leagues  from  the  coast  of  Peru,  and  having  no  hopes  of  finding 
a  southern  continent ;  and  next  day  two  islands  were  discovered  in  about 
15  degrees  south. 

These  were  of  moderate  height,  the  border  near  the  shore  of  white 
sand,  with  abundance  of  cocoa  nut  trees,  the  inland  parts  mountainous  ; 
many  canoes  came  off",  the  people  shouting  loudly,  who  were  answered 
by  drums  and  trumpets.  They  resembled  the  Gobd  Hope  Island  natives, 
and  exchanged  fish  for  beads  ;  but  one  making  a  threatening  motion  with 
his  spear,  and  others  committing  depredations,  a  quarrel  took  place,  when 
the  sailors  fired  without  orders,  and  several  of  the  savages  were  wounded. 
A  boat  sent  to  look  nearer  the  shore  was  likewise  attacked,  and  six  is- 
landers unfortunately  killed. 

These  quarrels  did  not  prevent  them  from  coming  to  the  ship  on  the 
22d,  but  none  were  admitted  on  board  ;  they  brought  provisions  of  vari- 
ous kinds,  and  bargained  very  fairly,  no  attempt  being  made  to  commit 
depredations.  Two  hogs  were  brought  ou  board  dressed  in  the  island 
fashion,  that  is,  only  half  done,  their  entrails  taken  out  and  herbs  stuffed 
in  them  along  with  hot  stones,  which  is  the  common  mode  of  cookery  ; 
a  present  of  a  live  hog  also  came  from  a  chief.  On  the  23d  the  ship  was 
warped  into  the  bay  about  a  stone's  throw  from  the  shore,  and  in  front  of  a 
stream  of  fresh  water,  which  her  guns  commanded. 

The  inhabitants  now  flocked  from  all  quarters  of  the  island,  in  order 
to  traffic,  and  among  them  numbers  of  women,  which  seemed  more  a 
proof  of  confidence  and  peace  than  they  had  yet  received  ;  about  500 
men,  armed  with  clubs,  assembled  near  an  open  house  or  shed,  which 
was  the  king's,  or  Areki's,  as  he  is  called  ;  in  the  evening  a  present  came 
from  him  with  an  invitation  on  shore,  which  was  declined  without 
hostages.  This  being  complied  with,  six  islanders  came  off",  and  three 
officers  went  on  shore,  who  were  received  with  due  honours  by  the  as- 
sembled chiefs,  who  in  return  received  presents  from  Claesz,  the  chief  of 
the  party,  whose  shirt  being  a  great  object  of  admiration  and  desire  for  its 
whiteness,  was  given  along  with  the  rest  to  the  Areki.  They  returned 
four  hogs,  and  directed  every  attention  and  assistance  to  be  paid  to  the 


LE  MAIRE  AND  SCHOUTEN.  159 

watering  party.  He  desired  a  great  gun  to  be  fired,  but,  along  with  all 
his  subjects,  fled,  on  hearing  it,  to  the  woods,  though  he  soon  returned  ; 
a  sword  was  at  first  stolen  by  a  native,  but  the  culprit  was  pursued,  taken, 
and  received  a  severe  beating  from  the  Areki's  officers,  alter  which, 
nothing  more  was  stolen  durmg  their  stay.  The  hostages  were  soon 
released  on  both  sides,  and  an  unreserved  intercourse  established. 

On  the  26th  the  president  proceeded  on  shore  in  state,  with  presents 
for^the  king,  who  received  him  with  great  cordiality,  and  taking  from  his 
own  and  his  son's  heads,  caps,  or  head-dresses  of  feathers,  put  them  on 
those  of  the  two  chief  merchants.  Next  evening  the  seamen  remained 
on  shore,  full  of  confidence  in  their  new  acquaintance,  singing  and 
dancing  by  the  light  of  the  moon  to  the  sound  of  instruments,  in  which 
they  were  joined  by  the  natives  ;  while,  to  add  to  the  amusements  of  the 
evening,  two  of  the  Dutch  went  through  a  mock  sword-fight  to  the  great 
admiration  of  the  natives.  28th,  the  chief  of  the  neighbouring  island 
visited  the  Areki  of  this  with  due  ceremony  ;  the  president  also  went  on 
shore  in  the  afternoon  to  a  grand  feast  given  to  the  strangers.  Next 
day  he  took  a  walk  inland,  attended  by  a  son  and  brother  of  the  Areki 
as  safeguards ;  and  having  finished  watering,  it  was  proclaimed  to  the 
islanders  that  they  would  depart  in  two  days,  which  news  seemed  not 
displeasing  from  the  provisions  consumed  and  the  power  ihey  had  dis- 
played. 

The  Areki  himself,  attended  by  sixteen  of  his  principal  subjects,  came 
on  board,  a  man  of  good  appearance  and  about  sixty  years  of  age  ;  he 
brought  several  presents,  and  was  received  with  all  due  honours  by  the 
president,  who  seated  him  on  the  gayest  cushions,  and  who  afterward 
accompanied  him  on  shore,  strolling  through  the  native  habitations  where 
the  seamen  were  busy  dancing  with  the  islanders  of  both  sexes.  The 
30th  the  chief  of  the  other  island  paid  a  more  formal  visit  than  formerly, 
being  accompanied  by  a  fleet  of  canoes  and  a  multitude  of  both  sexes  ; 
the  meeting  was  extremely  ceremonious  between  the  Arekis,  and  the 
Dutch,  who  were  of  the  party,  could  not  conceive  where  these  people 
could  have  learned  their  taste  for  so  much  form  and  etiquette.  Sixteen 
hogs  were  roasted  on  this  occasion,  and  a  large  quantity  of  yams  and 
other  vegetables  dressed  to  do  honour  to  it,  of  which  at  least  900  persons 
partook. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  31st  prepared  for  sailing,  when  the  two 
Arekis,  attended  by  their  principal  people,  came  on  board,  wearing  green 
leaves  of  the  cocoa  nut  round  their  necks  ;  provisions  were  supplied  in 
abundance,  and  Le  Maire,  after  treating  the  chiefs  with  wine,  accompa- 
nied them  on  shore.  At  noon  put  to  sea.  These  were  named  the 
Home  islands,  and  the  anchorage  Eendracht  Bay.  Le  Maire  thought 
they  might  be  the  Saloman  islands  of  Mendana.  The  bay  lies  in  14  de- 
grees 66  minutes  south. 

20th  June,  steering  to  the  northward,  the  latitude  was  4  degrees  50 
minutes  south,  when  in  the  evening  land  was  seen  to  the  southward  ; 
next  morning  found  it  a  cluster  of  small  low  islands,  connected  by  reefs 
and  sand-banks.  Two  canoes  came  oft",  one  with  six,  the  other  with 
four  men,  all  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  the  first  islanders  they  had 
seen  with  these  weapons  during  the  voyage  ;  presents  were  made  them, 
but  they  had  nothing  to  give  in  return,  and  would  not  venture  on  board. 

Toward  evening,  on  the  22d,  saw  a  group  of  twelve  or  thirteen  low 
islands,  very  smnll  in  extent,  which  were  named  Marquen.  Two  days 
afterward  three  more  were  discerned,  low  and  full  of  cneen  trees,  two  of 


160  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

them  two  leagues  long  each,  but  the  third  very  small;  these  were  named 
the  Green  islands.  The  same  day,  in  the  evening,  a  high  island  was 
observed  before  them,  which  was  called  Jan's  Island.  25th,  saw  very 
high  land,  supposed  to  be  the  Cape  of  New  Guinea,  and  by  noon  were 
near  enough  to  discover  people  and  habitations  ;  the  boat  tried  to  sound, 
but  was  attacked  by  canoes  till  compelled  to  fire  in  their  defence ;  at 
night  anchored,  and  were  well  watched  by  the  natives. 

The  26ih,  eight  proas  came  off  with  above  40  men,  armed  with  cljibs, 
slings,  and  wooden  spears  or  swords,  who,  notwithstanding  friendly  signs, 
commenced  an  attack,  and  were  answered  with  cannon  and  musketry, 
which  caused  four  canoes  to  be  deserted,  and  the  rest  made  off.  Ten 
or  twelve  were  killed  by  this  unnecessary  severity,  and  three  made  pri- 
soners, who  were  carried  to  the  shore  to  be  exchanged  for  provisions, 
but  not  being  of  sufficient  consequence  to  be  ransomed  in  this  way,  were 
afterward  liberated  gratuitously.  On  the  morning  of  the  30th  were  near 
a  bay  supposed  to  be  in  New  Guinea,  from  some  island  near  which 
several  canoes  came  off,  embellished  with  rude  paintings  and  carved 
images  ;  the  people  had  flat  noses,  thick  lips,  and  wide  mouths,  with  the 
odour  observed  in  negroes. 

Next  day,  between  the  main  and  a  long  island,  they  were  visited  by 
several  of  the  people  seen  the  day  before,  in  twenty-five  canoes,  who, 
instead  of  behaving  peaceably,  commenced  a  hostile  attack  and  were 
immediately  repulsed,  several  of  them  being  killed,  and  one  taken  pri- 
soner. July  6lh,  saw  during  these  three  or  four  days  past  a  variety  of 
small  islands,  and  a  burning  isle  close  to  Papua,  or  New  Guinea,  from 
which  many  canoes  came  off;  observed  the  water  to  be  discoloured  with 
many  limbs  and  branches  of  trees  floating  about,  which  seemed  as  if  a 
large  river  was  not  far  off;  were  visited  on  the  8th  by  the  Papuans,  or 
natives,  every  one  of  whom  was  remarked  to  have  some  defect  in  body ; 
they  had  black,  short,  curled  hair,  wearing  rings  in  their  noses,  and 
proved  as  active,  as  curious,  and  as  mischievous  as  monkeys. 

Anchored  next  day  in  a  bay,  on  the  shores  of  which  were  two  villages 
well  inhabited,  the  women  and  children  flocking  to  look  at  the  ship,  but 
they  would  not  part  with  their  provisions.  Weighed  again,  and  coasted 
three  leagues  from  the  shore,  passing  several  islands.  On  the  15ih 
were  in  latitude  1  degree  56  minutes  south,  and  saw  two  islands  covered 
with  cocoa  nut  trees,  well  inhabited,  when  they  anchored.  Some  canoes 
approached,  and  a  native  prepared  to  shoot  an  arrow  on  board,  when  a 
musket  was  fired  to  prevent  him  ;  after  which  the  patron  proceeded  with 
two  boats,  well  armed,  to  obtain  cocoa  nuts,  but  the  natives  disputed  the 
beach,  till  a  gun  from  the  ship  dispersed  them.  From  the  woods,  how- 
ever, the  Dutch  were  again  attacked,  and  after  a  sharp  struggle,  com- 
pelled to  retreat,  with  fifteen  men  wounded,  among  whom  was  Adrieu 
Claesz,  who  had  an  arrow  through  his  hand. 

From  the  smaller  island  the  boats  were  more  successful,  where  a  plan- 
tation of  cocoa  nut  trees  was  stripped,  and  some  huts  burned,  on  which 
the  people  became  more  peaceable,  bringing  off  refreshments,  and  receiv- 
ing presents  in  return.  July  the  23d,  passed  several  small  islands,  the 
people  of  which  had  tawny  complexions  and  long  curling  hair,  differing 
a  good  deal  from  the  Papoas,  or  Papuans.  August  the  5th,  came  to  the 
Isle  of  Goley,  subject  to  the  King  of  Tidore,  after  being  much  embar- 
rassed for  many  days  by  islands,  shoals,  and  unknown  tracks,  from  which 
they  with  difficulty  got  clear.  Sailed  again  next  day  ;  and,  after  being 
much  delayed  by  calms,  met,  September  the  17th,  with  a  ship  of  their 


JACOB  l'heremite.  161 

own  country,  one  of  Admiral  Spilbergen's  fleet,  anchoring  the  same  day 
at  the  Island  of  Ternate,  or  Terrenate.  They  were  kindly  received  by 
the  people  in  power  :  the  Eendracht  had  not  lost  one  of  her  crew  in  this 
long  navigation  ;  and  they  had  discovered  a  new  passage  to  the  South 
Sea  ;  yet  these  merits  did  not  avail  them,  for  on  the  arrival  of  the  ship 
at  Jacatra,  the  present  Batavia,  in  the  Island  of  Java,  she  was  seized 
and  condemned,  on  a  supposed  infringement  of  the  rights  of  the  Dutch 
East  India  Company,  the  otficers  and  crew  being  put  on  board  other  ships 
to  be  conveyed  to  Europe. 

On  the  3l8t  of  December,  during  the  passage  home,  died  the  presi- 
dent, Jacob  Le  Maire,  a  victim  to  the  unwortliy  treatment  he  had  re- 
ceived, a  worthy  man,  and  a  prudent  and  skilful  navigator ;  and  on  th^ 
1st  of  July,  1617,  his  companions  arrived  in  Holland,  having  been  absent 
two  years  and  seventeen  days. 


ADMIRAL  JACOB  L'HEREMITE.— 1623-26. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1623  a  fleet  was  equipped,  by  order  of 
the  States-general  and  Prince  Maurice  of  Nassau,  against  the  Spanish 
settlements  in  Peru.  This  armament  consisted  of  eleven  sail  of  ship- 
ping, under  the  orders  of  Admiral  Jacob  L'Heremite,  an  officer  who  had 
served  the  Dutch  India  Company  many  years  with  great  reputation  A 
complaint  which  alflicted  him  at  the  most  critical  period  of  the  expedi- 
tion, and  finally  terminated  his  hfe  before  he  reached  Europe,  has  caused 
this  voyage  often  to  be  called  that  of  the  Nassau  fleet,  from  Prince  Mau- 
rice of  Nassau,  a  principal  promoter  of  the  design. 

The  admiral's  ship,  named  the  Amsterdam,  mounted  forty-two  guns, 
with  237  men  ;  that  of  the  vice-admiral  was  nearly  of  equal  force,  and 
some  of  the  others  little  inferior  ;  the  whole  number  of  guns  was  294  ; 
of  men  1637,  of  whom  600  were  regular  soldiers,  with  practical  pilots 
and  scientific  mathematicians,  altogether  the  greatest  force  ever  sent  into 
the  South  Sea. 

It  quitted  Goree  April  the  29th,  1623,  under  orders  to  make  the  pas- 
sage by  the  Strait  of  Le  Maire.  May  the  31st,  fell  in  with  a  fleet  of 
Barbary  corsairs,  near  Cape  St.  Vincent,  from  which  several  Hollanders, 
detained  prisoners,  were  taken  and  distributed  in  the  fleet.  June  the  4t,h, 
captured  four  Spanish  vessels  from  Pernambuco,  laden  with  sugar ;  two 
of  these  and  one  of  the  armament  being  sent  to  Holland  from  their  indif- 
ferent sailing.  July  the  5th,  watered  at  the  Cape  de  Verde  islands  ;  and, 
on  the  11th  of  August,  anchored  at  Sierra  Leone,  having,  from  the  con- 
tinual rains,  a  sickly  crew.  Here  presents  were  obliged  to  be  given  to 
the  chiefs  before  communication  was  permitted  with  the  shore  ;  a  species 
of  nuts  eaten  by  some  of  the  crew  had  nearly  proved  fatal,  but  for  the 
prompt  administration  of  medicines  to  counteract  their  deleterious  effects ; 
forty-two  men  also  perished  from  dysentery,  brought  on  from  eating  too 
many  limes,  which  seamen  on  a  voyage  are  naturally  fond  of,  though 
they,  as  well  as  other  fruits  and  vegetables,  often  bring  on  this  complaint 
if  used  too  freely  at  first.  The  admiral  was  also  taken  ill.  Two  ships 
grounded  on  a  bank  near  Cape  Lopez  Gonsalvo,  but  were  soon  got  off. 

During  the  passage  to  the  Isle  of  Annabon,  complaint  was  made 
against  Mr.  Jacob  Begeer,  the  principal  surgeon  of  the  ship  Mauritius, 
that  several  of  his  patients,  soon  after  taking  the  medicines  he  had  pre- 
scribed for  them,  had  died  in  a  manner  which  had  given  cause  to  suspect 

14* 


162  l-OYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

there  was  something  extraordinary  in  his  practice.  The  vice  and  rear- 
admirals  were  jointly  commissioned  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of  this  com- 
plaint. The  unhappy  surgeon  answered  the  charge  with  protestations 
of  innocence  ;  but,  as  the  narrative  of  the  voyage  says,  there  were  half 
proofs  against  him,  torture  was  applied  to  make  him  confess,  notwith- 
standing which  he  persisted  in  denial,  telling  the  commissioners  they 
might  do  what  they  pleased  with  him.  This  being  regarded  as  insensi- 
bility, created  a  suspicion  that  he  had  a  protecting  charm  ;  and,  on  being 
searched,  the  skin  and  tongue  of  a  serpent  were  found  upon  him,  which 
to  them  seCTned  to  leave  no  doubt  of  the  fact,  and  he  was  remanded  to 
confinement.  Again  he  was  brought  before  the  commissioners,  and  being 
let  out  of  irons  for  this  purpose,  immediately  jumped  overboard,  but  was 
followed  by  two  men,  who  supported  him  in  the  water  till  a  boat  picked 
them  up.  After  much  resolute  denial,  the  poor  man's  constancy  was 
overpowered  by  their  cruelties,  and  he  was  compelled  to  confess  that  he 
had  caused  seven  men  to  die  because  the  care  of  them  gave  him  too 
much  trouble  ;  also,  that  he  had  tried  to  enter  in  a  compact  with  the 
devil,  whose  presence  and  protection  he  had  invoked,  but  this  cunning  per- 
sonage it  seems  would  not  appear.  On  this  foundation,  the  wretched 
man  was  beheaded  on  board  his  ship,  on  the  18th  of  October,  an  instance 
of  superstition,  barbarity,  and  folly,  not  exceeded  by  any  of  the  savages 
of  the  countries  ihey  meant  to  visit. 

On  the  29th  of  October  made  the  Isle  of  Annabon,  subject  to  the  Por- 
tuguese, and  abounding  in  fruits  ;  a  compact  of  amity  between  the  Dutch 
and  the  governor  was  agreed  upon,  the  former  to  procure  refreshments, 
and  the  latter  to  be  permitted  to  remain  unmolested  ;  oxen,  hogs,  goats, 
poultry,  and  other  provisions,  were  consequently  procured  in  abundance. 
The  island  lies  10  degrees  20  minutes  south,  is  six  leagues  in  circuit, 
with  a  tolerable  anchorage  for  ships  ;  grows  some  cotton,  and  is  said  to 
have  civet  cats  in  the  mountains  ;  200,000  oranges  were  sent  on  board  ; 
and  water  is  plentiful,  but  difficult  to  be  got  at,  on  account  of  the  surf 
on  the  beach,  which  is  often  fatal  to  boats. 

On  the  11th  of  November  sailed,  and  advancing  ninety  leagues  to  the 
west-south-west,  found  the  south-east  trade  wind,  and  then  stood  for  the 
coast  of  Brazil ;  near  which,  on  the  19th  and  20th  of  January,  1624,  ob- 
served the  sea  discoloured  with  an  infinite  number  of  small  shrimps. 
On  the  28th  one  of  the  prize  barks  separating  from  the  fleet,  and  being 
unable  to  rejoin,  bent  her  way  homeward.  Three  days  afterward  the 
fleet  made  Cape  de  Penas,  on  Terra  del  Fuego,  about  mid-way  between 
the  Canal  de  San  Sebastian  and  Cape  St.  Ines. 

On  the  2d  of  February  entered  Strait  Le  Maire,  which  they  would  not 
have  suspected  if  the  pilot  of  the  Eendracht  had  not  recognised  the  high 
mountains  on  the  western  side  ;  the  marks  for  its  entrance  are  high, 
broken,  and  mountamous  land  on  the  eastern  side,  while  on  the  other,  a 
western  shore,  are  seen  several  round  hills  close  to  the  sea-side.  Two 
of  the  ships  anchored  in  a  bay  of  Terra  del  Fuego,  trafficking  with  the 
natives  for  seal  skins,  and  caught  also  i  large  quantity  of  shell  and  other 
fish  ;  this  place,  after  the  rear-admiral,  was  named  Verschoor  Bay. 
Another  of  the  ships  anchored  in  a  very  tolerable  harbour,  which  was 
called  Valentine's  Bay. 

On  the  14th  of  February,  having  passed  through  the  strait  several 
days,  observed  the  compasses  to  differ  much  from  each  other  ;  latitude 
r>6  degrees  20  minutes  south.  Cape  Horn  bearing  west  seven  leagues 
distant.     Being  afraid  of  falling  to  leeward  of  this  point,  the  admiral  ran 


JACOB  l'heremite.  163 

for  a  bay  in  Terra  del  Fuego,  afterward  named  Nassau  Bay,  where  the 
fleet  anchored  ;  here  was  found  plenty  of  water,  but  no  fish,  except 
shell-fish ;  one  of  the  coves  of  this  bay  was  named  Schapenham  Bay, 
after  the  vice-admiral. 

On  the  24th,  a  storm  having  forced  the  boats  off  to  the  ships,  leaving 
nineteen  men  behind  unprovided  with  arms,  seventeen  were  found  killed 
by  the  natives  on  their  return,  the  other  two  having  escaped  by  conceal- 
ment ;  no  quarrel,  it  seems,  had  taken  place,  but  being  defenceless,  this 
was  a  sufficient  reason  for  the  savages.  The  vice-admiral  being  ordered 
to  examine  the  coast,  reported  that  the  whole  of  Terra  del  Fuego  is  di- 
vided into  many  islands,  and  that  to  pass  into  the  South  Sea  it  is  not 
necessary  to  double  Cape  Horn,  for  that  on  every  side  there  were  open- 
ings, bays,  and  gulfs,  running  into  the  land  as  far  as  the  eye  could  dis- 
tinguish. 

The  natives  are  said  by  these  voyagers  to  be  as  white  as  Europeans 
when  young,  which  they  saw  in  several  infants,  but  that  the  constant 
use  of  oil  and  dirt,  with  exposure,  changes  the  natural  colour  in  adults. 
Most  of  them  paint  their  bodies  with  a  species  of  red  ochre,  some  with 
white  ;  they  are  well  proportioned,  about  the  stature  of  the  whites,  have 
long,  thick,  black  hair,  and  teeth  filed  as  sharp  as  the  blade  of  a  ktife. 
The  men  were  entirely  without  clothing  ;  the  women  with  a  slight  cover- 
ing round  the  waist,  and  necklaces  of  shells  ;  they  also  were  painted,  like 
the  men. 

Their  huts  were  formed  of  trees,  of  a  circular  form,  diminishing  at 
top  to  a  point,  with  an  opening  for  the  smoke.  They  had  lines,  hooks, 
and  harpoons  for  fishing,  all  neatly  made  ;  and  they  never  were  seen 
abroad  without  their  arms.  They  possessed  boats  made  from  the  bark 
of  large  trees,  and  very  dexterously  curved,  something  like  Venetian 
gondolas,  and  from  ten  to  sixteen  feet  long  ;  no  religion  or  government 
seems  to  exist  among  them,  and  they  cat  everything  raw. 

'On  the  27th  of  February  quitted  Nassau  Bay,  the  wind  westerly,  Juan 
Fernandez  being  appointed  the  rendezvous  in  case  of  separation.  On 
the  8th  of  March  were  in  61  degrees  south  ;  three  of  the  ships  straggled 
from  the  fleet,  and  on  the  28th  the  admiral  saw  the  coast  of  Chih  ; 
April  the  6th,  he  anchored  at  Juan  Fernandez,  where  three  soldiers  and 
three  gunners  from  the  vice-admiral's  ship  chose  to  remain  in  preference 
to  going  to  sea. 

On  the  3d  of  May  had  sight  of  the  coast  of  Peru,  and  on  the  8th, 
nearly  abreast  of  Callao,  took  a  small  bark  with  eleven  men  ;  from  whom 
the  admiral  heard  that  the  treasure  fleet,  consisting  of  five  ships  richly 
laden,  had  sailed  from  Callao  for  Panama.  The  Spanish  admiral,  in  a 
ship  of  800  tons  and  forty-two  guns,  with  two  smaller  vessels  of  war, 
were  still  in  the  former  port,  besides  a  great  number  of  merchant  vessels  ; 
to  protect  which,  there  were  not  more  than  300  soldiers,  while  the  na- 
tives and  negroes  were  inclined  to  rise  against  their  masters.  Upon  this, 
a  council  of  war  was  held,  whether  to  pursue  the  galleons  or  attack  Cal- 
lao ;  the  latter  was  resolved  upon,  the  command  now  devolving  on  the 
vice-admiral,  Schapenham,  in  consequence  of  the  extreme  ill  health  of 
L'Heremite. 

On  the  9th  the  troops  embarked  in  the  boats,  but,  on  account  of  the 
surf  and  the  Spaniards  on  the  beach,  did  not  persist  in  landing ;  during 
the  two  following  days  the  commander  seemed  at  a  loss  what  to  do  ;  in 
the  night  of  the  12th  an  attack  was  made  on  the  merchant  vessels,  about 
fifty  in  number,  when  they  were  set  on  fire,  instead  of  being  brought  off, 


164  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

which  might  have  been  easily  accomplished  ;  but  all  their  measures  now 
indicated  neither  spirit  nor  perseverance,  and  farther  operations  were 
confined  merely  to  predatory  excursions,  instead  of  attempting  the  town 
and  fleet  at  once. 

On  the  2d  of  June  the  admiral,  L'Heremite,  died,  a  man  of  skill  and 
courage,  to  whom  no  part  of  the  misconduct  or  ill  success  of  his  fleet 
was  owing.  Two  attempts  were  made  upon  a  ship,  the  Recargo,  which 
had  on  board  some  of  the  treasure  not  carried  away  in  the  fleet,  but  with 
some  want  of  success  attending  all  their  other  enterprises.  Some  of  the 
Spanish  prisoners  applied  for  an  exchange,  but  the  governor  replied,  that 
they  had  only  powder  and  ball  at  the  service  of  the  Hollanders,  an  an- 
swer which  proved  fatal  to  his  unfortunate  countrymen  ;  for,  immediately 
on  receiving  it,  those  detained  in  the  Dutch  fleet,  twenty-one  in  number, 
were  hanged  at  the  yard-arm  of  the  Amsterdam,  a  most  barbarous  and 
unjustifiable  proceeding,  for  which  no  apology  ever  was  or  could  be  of- 
fered. 

Schapenhara  was  now  ashamed  of  the  insignificant  part  he  was  acting 
with  so  large  a  force,  but  did  not  appear  to  know  what  to  do.  At  one 
time  it  was  determined  to  proceed  against  Chili,  for  which  various  prepa- 
rations were  made.  August  the  5th,  Gruaquil  was  captured  by  two  ships 
under  Verschoor,  the  rear-admiral,  who  set  it  on  fire  ;  100  Spaniards 
being  killed  in  its  defence,  and  seventeen  prisoners  taken,  who  were 
barbarously  thrown  into  the  sea,  under  the  pretence  of  treachery. 

On  the  14th  left  the  anchorage  off  Callao,  where  no  water  could  be 
procured,  and  proceeded  twenty  miles  to  the  southward,  where  the 
landing  being  good,  and  their  force  unbroken,  an  easy  descent  and  march 
to  the  city  was  practicable.  This,  however,  was  neglected.  A  second 
attempt  was  made  upon  Guaquil  without  any  apparent  object,  and  proved 
extremely  disastrous,  twenty-eight  men  being  killed  in  a  shameful  retreat, 
though  the  attacking  force  was  double  that  formerly  successful. 

A  resolution  was  now  taken  to  go  to  Acapulco,  to  wait  for  the  galleon  ; 
here  Schapenham  attempted  to  negotiate  with  the  governor,  who,  how- 
ever, would  not  listen  to  him  ;  and  though  the  face  of  the  former  was 
sufficient  to  procure  anything  on  the  coast  for  the  supply  of  his  fleet,  it 
was  not  tried,  as  if  his  incapacity  should  be  plainly  discernible  in  every 
part  of  his  command.  November  the  29th,  after  various  contradictory 
determinations,  the  fleet  finally  quitted  this  coast  for  the  East  Indies ; 
thus  cheaply  freeing  the  Spaniards  from  the  formidable  force  which  threa- 
tened their  possessions  in  Peru,  and  which,  skilfully  and  courageously 
applied,  might  have  gone  far  to  dispossess  them  of  it. 

In  fifty-seven  days  the  fleet  made  Guaham,  or  Guam,  one  of  the  La- 
drones,  when  150  canoes  came  off  to  barter  yams  and  cocoa  nuts  for 
such  trinkets  and  metal  implements  as  the  voyagers  had  to  spare  ;  for 
the  scurvy  had  made  great  ravages,  "and  some  ships  were  so  weak  as 
scarcely  to  be  able  to  work  their  sails.  February  the  11th,  sailed  for 
the  Moluccas,  and  four  days  after  saw  land,  high,  and  seemingly  well  in- 
inhabited  and  cultivated  ;  several  canoes  attempted  to  follow  them,  but 
in  vain ;  the  people  resembled  the  Ladrone  islanders.  March  the  4th, 
anchored  at  the  Island  of  Terrenate. 

Here  the  voyage  of  the  Nassau  fleet  may  be  said  to  have  terminated, 
the  ships  having  separated  upon  different  services  in  the  East  Indies. 
In  October  Schapenham  embarked,  being  in  a  bad  state  of  health,  on 
board  the  Eendracht,  at  Batavia,  but  died  early  in  November.  The  ope- 
rations of  his  fleet  were,  therefore,  of  no  importance  in  any  point  of  view, 


jACOft  ROOGEWElPf.  105 

the  military  transactions  being  contemptible,  and  the  discoveries  being 
confined  to  the  knowledge  of  Nassau  Bay,  and  a  more  accurate  idea  of 
the  nature  of  the  southern  portion  of  Terra  del  Fuego. 


ADMIRAL  JACOB  ROGGEWEIN.— 1721-23. 

Jacob  Roggewein,  bred  originally  to  the  law,  had  been  to  the  East 
Indies  as  counsellor  in  a  court  of  judicature,  but  returning  home  with  a 
good  fortune,  presented  a  memorial  to  the  Dutch  West  India  Company 
to  proceed  in  search  of  southern  unknown  lands,  a  project  which  his 
father  had  adopted  fifty  years  before,  though  without  meeting  the  desired 
patronage.  His  son  was  now  more  successful,  the  company  adopting 
his  plan,  and  appointing  him  admiral. 

On  the  21st  of  August,  1721,  he  departed  from  the  Texel,  in  the 
Eagle,  carrying  thirty-six  guns  and  111  men  ;  with  the  Tienhoven, 
twenty-eight  guns  and  110  men,  and  the  African  galley,  of  fourteen  guns 
and  sixty  men.  Near  the  Canary  islands  they  were  attacked  by  a  fleet 
of  pirates,  who  were  beaten  off,  though  with  the  loss  of  several  men. 
At  Brazil  nine  men  deserted  ;  after  quitting  it,  they  looked  in  vain  for 
Hawkins'  Maiden  Land,*  but  pretend  to  have  found  an  island  200  leagues 
in  circuit,  and  distant  from  the  American  coast  about  200  leagues.  Here 
they  separated  in  a  storm  from  the  Tienhoven.  The  other  ships  passed 
through  Strait  Le  Maire,  and,  March  the  10th,  anchored  at  the  Isle  of 
Mocha,  where  there  were  no  other  inhabitants  than  dogs  and  horses ; 
from  this  they  made  Juan  Fernandez,  and  met  with  the  Tienhoven,  who 
had  passed  through  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  and  reached  the  present 
anchorage  only  one  day  before  them.  Here  they  procured  provisions 
from  the  land,  as  well  as  the  usual  abundant  supply  of  fish. 

Quitting  this  island,  saw,  on  the  6th  of  April,  an  island,  which,  being 
the  anniversary  of  the  Resurrection,  was  named  Easter  Island  ;  next  day 
it  seemed  well  inhabited,  and  a  native  came  off  to  look  at  the  ships  from 
a  distance,  but,  in  endeavouring  to  return,  was  intercepted  by  the  boats 
and  brought  on  board.  He  was  of  robust  make,  of  a  brown  complexion, 
and  quite  naked ;  his  ears  remarkably  long,  supposed  to  be  from  the 
weight  of  ear-rings.  Presents  of  various  descriptions  were  made  him, 
all  which  were  hung  round  his  neck,  and  made  perfectly  merry  with  the 
sailors,  calling  out  as  he  returned  on  shore,  0-dorroga  0-dorroga,  sup- 
posed to  be  addressed  to  some  large  idols  observed  upon  the  coast. 

On  the  9th  the  natives  were  observed  to  prostrate  themselves  toward 
the  sun,  and  lighting  fires  before  their  idols  ;  several  came  to  the  ships, 
among  whom  was  their  first  visiter,  and  another  man  who  seemed  quite 
white,  and  from  his  serious  deportment  was  believed  to  be  one  of  their 
priests.  Next  day  the  admiral  landed,  with  150  men  armed,  as  if  for  an 
invasion.  The  natives  met  them  on  the  beach,  and,  though  unarmed, 
seemed  to  dispute  their  right  to  disembark,  by  pushing  against  those  who 
landed  and  touching  their  arms,  when  a  volley  of  musketry,  fired  among 
the  crowd,  killed  several  and  put  the  rest  to  flight,  a  severity  not  at  all 
required  by  the  occasion. 

The  consternation  of  these  poor  people  was  extrems,  making  the  most 
doleful  lamentations  over  the  dead.    Men,  women,  and  children  then  came, 

*  It  is  just  announced  in  the  newspapers,  (May  1820,)  that  this  island, 
though  never  seen  since  that  time,  has  lately  been  observed  by  the  ship  Wil- 
liam, from  Monte-Video,  bound  to  Chili. 


166  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

carrying  branches  of  the  palm  tree,  falling  on  their  knees,  and  offering 
presents  of  nuts,  plantains,  sugar  canes,  roots,  and  fowls,  to  their  more 
barbarous  visiters,  who  gave  presents  of  cloth  and  trinkets  in  return. 
No  quadrupeds  were  visible,  but  hogs  seemed  to  be  known  by  the  notice 
taken  of  those  on  board.  Each  family  seemed  to  have  its  own  hamlet ; 
the  houses  are  from  forty  to  sixty  feet  in  length,  constructed  of  timbers, 
and  thatched  with  palm  leaves  ;  the  land  was  cultivated,  and  marked  by 
exact  and  regular  enclosures. 

The  people  are  slender  in  person,  well  made,  and  run  swiftly,  of  mild 
behaviour,  their  complexion  brown,  like  that  of  the  Spaniards,  though  in 
many  instances  whiter  ;  their  bodies  painted  with  all  manner  of  figures 
of  birds  and  animals.  The  women  were  mostly  painted  of  a  bright  red 
colour,  with  partial  coverings  of  linen  and  a  stuff  like  silk,  and  wore  small 
hats  formed  of  rushes  or  straw.  What  is  very  remarkable,  the  men  seemed 
to  have  no  hostile  weapons,  apparently  putting  their  trust  in  their  idols. 
These  were  of  stone,  thrice  the  height  of  a  man,  well  proportioned,  with 
great  ears,  and  the  head  ornamented  by  a  crown  ;  parapet  walls  enclosed 
these  gigantic  figures,  and  they  were  attended  by  men  shaven  on  their 
heads,  who  were  doubtless  priests. 

No  chief  appeared  among  these  people,  nor  any  one  who  seemed  to 
have  any  particular  command,  except  some  of  the  most  aged,  who  wore 
plumes  and  carried  staves,  as  if  the  patriarchal  government  prevailed 
among  them.  It  was  the  admiral's  intention  to  traverse  the  island  next 
day,  in  order  to  examine  it  more  particularly ;  but  a  strong  west  wind 
came  on,  by  which  two  of  the  ships  broke  from  their  anchors,  and  render- 
ed it  necessary  for  the  whole  to  proceed  to  sea  for  safety.  Latitude  of 
this  discovery  27  degrees  south. 

Early  in  May,  in  15  degrees  45  minutes  south,  saw  an  island,  low  and 
sandy,  with  a  lagaon,  or  lake,  in  the  centre,  which  was  named  Carlfs-hof, 
but  which  some  believed  to  be  the  Houden  Isle  of  Le  Maire  and  Schouten. 
On  the  20th  the  African  galley,  the  look-out  vessel,  found  herself  in  the 
night  among  a  cluster  of  low  islands  all  at  once,  and  before  she  could 
avoid  the  danger,  ran  upon  them  between  two  rocks  ;  but  firing  signal 
guns  to  her  consorts,  they  had  time  to  haul  off  and  keep  clear  of  difficul- 
ties. The  report  of  the  cannon  brought  down  a  number  of  the  natives, 
who  lighted  fires  in  several  places  ;  the  Hollanders,  alarmed  for  their 
safety,  fired  in  the  direction,  and  dispersed  them. 

At  daylight  next  morning  the  Eagle  and  Tienhoven  found  themselves 
in  a  great  measure  encircled  by  land,  there  being  four  large  islands  and 
many  islets  and  rocks  in  sight,  so  that  they  could  not  distinguish  by  what 
channel  they  had  entered.  For  five  days  they  could  not  clear  those  dan- 
gers ;  the  galley  was  irretrievably  lost,  and  her  crew  divided  between 
the  other  ships,  except  five  men,  who  took  to  the  woods,  and  having  be- 
haved improperly  would  not  return,  choosing  rather  to  remain  among 
savages,  of  whose  disposition,  persons,  or  manners  they  were  totally  igno- 
rant. At  a  detachment  sent  in  pursuit  of  them,  they  fired  from  the  woods, 
and  though  promised  pardon,  would  not  quit  their  retreat.  These  were 
called  the  Schaadelyk  or  Pernicious  islands. 

On  the  26th  of  May  saw  another  island  at  daybreak,  upon  which  t>r€y 
would  have  run  had  they  continued  on  a  mile  farther ;  and  toward  evening 
another,  the  former  being  called  Daageraad,  the  latter  Abendroth,  or 
Daybreak  and  Evening  Islands.  These  are  supposed  to  be  the  Sonden- 
Grondt  and  Vlieghen  Islands  of  Le  Maire. 

On  the  29th  came  to  a  group  of  islands  named  the  Labyrinth,  six  or 


JACOB  ROGGEWEIN.  167 

eight  in  number,  from  which  it  was  difficult  to  get  clear ;  tney  did  not 
anchor,  but  though  no  inhabitants  appeared,  there  was  ample  evidence 
of  their  existence,  by  the  number  of  fires  and  quantity  of  smoke  which 
were  discernible.  June  the  Ist,  approached  an  island  of  good  appea 
lance,  situated  16  degrees  south,  and  about  twelve  German  leagues  ir 
circuit,  to  which  was  given  the  name  of  Verquikking,  or  Recreation  Is 
land.  This  was  high  land,  and  of  course  very  different  from  the  others 
Two  boats,  with  twenty-five  men  in  each,  were  sent,  armed,  to  look  foi 
anchoring  ground  and  refreshments,  when  the  natives  advanced  into  the 
water  to  oppose  their  landing,  but  were  dispersed  by  the  fire  of  musketry. 
Signs  of  friendship  were,  however,  made  to  them,  and  farther  intercourse 
took  place,  assisted  by  mutual  presents. 

The  next  day  a  stronger  party  quitting  the  ships,  made  presents  of 
beads  and  looking-glasses  to  the  person  who  seemed  to  be  chief;  who, 
however,  received  them  with  disdain,  though  cocoa  nuts  were  given  in 
return.  After  filling  twenty  sacks  with  herbs  for  the  use  of  the  sick,  the 
Dutch  advanced  into  the  country,  but  were  repeatedly  advised  by  the 
chief  not  to  do  so,  till  at  length  a  shower  of  stones  from  the  offended 
natives  wounded  several,  which  was  answered  by  a  volley  of  musketry. 
Several  fell  by  this  act  of  retaliation,  but  the  savages,  undaunted,  con- 
tinued the  fight  with  increasing  numbers  and  fury,  so  that  the  Dutch 
were  at  length  forced  back  to  their  boats,  every  one  severely  wounded 
and  many  even  killed,  with  so  strong  an  impression  on  the  minds  of  the 
seamen,  that  none,  after  this  time,  would  volunteer  to  proceed  in  the 
boats  to  unknown  islands,  where  there  was  any  doubt  of  the  disposition 
of  the  people. 

The  natives  here  were  robust,  well  made,  active  and  dexterous  in  any- 
thing they  undertook,  having  long  shining  black  hair,  anointed  with  cocoa 
nut  oil ;  they  were  painted  all  over  the  body,  like  the  people  of  Easter 
Island ;  the  men  wearing  a  kind  of  net-work  round  their  waists,  the  wo- 
men wholly  covered  with  a  stuff  soft  to  the  touch,  and  adorned  with 
ornaments  of  pearl  shell.  It  has  since  been  supposed  that  this  island 
is  the  one  now  known  by  the  name  of  Ulietea. 

A  council  of  the  officers  was  now  called  by  the  admiral,  who  commu- 
nicated to  them  his  instructions,  that  if,  after  arriving  at  a  certain  longitude, 
he  did  not  discover  a  country  worth  taking  possession  of,  he  was  to  bend 
his  course  homeward  ;  on  which  they  unanimously  agreed  that,  from  the 
exhausted  state  of  their  provisions,  the  number  of  sick,  and  the  state  of 
the  vessels,  it  was  not  possible  to  return  by  Cape  Horn  ;  and,  therefore, 
the  only  way  was  by  the  East  Indies. 

Thirteen  days  after,  June  the  15ih,  quitting  Recreation  Island,  they 
discovered  a  group  which,  after  the  captain  of  the  Tienhoven,  was  named 
Bauman's  islands  ;  they  were  pleasantly  interspersed  with  hills  and  val- 
leys, and  ten  or  twenty  German  miles  in  circuit,  latitude  13  degrees  41 
minutes  south.  Numbers  of  natives  flocked  off  to  them  in  boats  neatly 
made,  who  exchanged  fish,  cocoa  nuts,  and  plantains,  for  beads  and  other 
trinkets,  the  shores  also  being  crowded  with  spectators.  In  one  of  the 
canoes  sat  a  mu\  to  whom  the  other  islanders  showed  great  respect,  and 
by  his  side  a  young  woman  nearly  vi^hite  ;  the  complexions  of  the  majority 
were  also  but  little  different  from  Europeans,  except  what  the  tanning  of 
the  sun  and  constant  exposure  had  effected.  They  appeared  a  good  kind 
of  people,  their  bodies  not  painted,  but  clothed  from  the  waist  downward 
with  a  species  of  fringes  of  silken  stuff,  and  wearing  necklaces  of  odori- 
ferous flowers.  These  are  considered  the  Navigator's  islands  of  M. 
Bougainville.  ^ 


168  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

Quitting  these,  where  Roggewein  would  not  make  any  stay,  lest  he 
Bhould  lose  the  monsoon  for  the  Er.st  Indies,  they  next  day  saw  two  is- 
lands, supposed  to  be  those  of  Cocos  and  Verrader  of  Le  Maire,  but 
more  probably  those  of  Horn  and  Wallis's  Islands.  Shortly  afterward 
they  distinguished  two  more  of  very  considerable  size,  which  were  named 
Tienhoven  and  Groningen  Islands  ;  but  though  they  coasted  them  the 
whole  of  the  day  without  discovering  the  termination  of  the  former,  yet 
no  attempt  was  made  to  land,  from  the  admiral's  anxiety  to  proceed  to 
India,  though  scurvy  and  dysentery  raged  so  much  on  board,  that  refresh- 
ments were  of  the  utmost  importance  to  their  welfare.  Three,  four,  and 
five  men  died  daily,  and  some  with  their  last  breath  cursed  their  com- 
mander for  not  trying  to  obtain  that  relief  which  was  so  near  them. 

July  the  I8th,  saw  New  Britain,  the  people  being  of  a  copper  colour, 
with  long  black  hair,  and  apparently  of  hostile  dispositions  ;  dropped  the 
anchor  at  the  Islands  of  Moa  and  Arimoa,  where  refreshments  might 
have  been  procured  by  barter,  but  Roggewein  adopted  the  more  summary 
method  of  taking  them  by  force  of  arms,  landing  a  body  of  men,  cutting 
down  the  cocoa  nut  trees,  and  firing  upon  the  natives  without  any  pre- 
vious quarrel.  This  track  had  before  been  followed  by  Le  Maire  and 
Schouten,  and  Tasman,  and  the  good  effects  of  their  mildness  was  obvi- 
ous in  the  friendly  dispositions  of  the  people,  till  it  was  foolishly  destroyed 
by  Roggewein. 

Pursuing  his  course  westward,  he  passed  between  the  north-west  part 
of  New  Guinea  and  Gilolo.  In  September  he  made  the  coast  of  Java, 
and  anchored  at  Japara,  where  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  had  a 
fort,  where  many  of  his  men  were  landed,  while  notice  of  his  arrival  was 
sent  to  the  governor-general  at  Batavia.  Altogether,  they  had  lost 
seventy  men  by  sickness,  besides  those  killed  in  skirmishes  with  the  na- 
tives, and  thirty  were  landed  here. 

Roggewein,  who  had  no  license  from  the  company  to  come  to  India, 
which  it  seems  all  ships  were  obliged  to  have,  ought  to  have  avoided 
their  settlements  ;  but  going  afterward  to  Batavia,  upon  invitation  of  the 
governor-general,  his  ships  were  seized,  as  in  case  of  Le  Maire  and  Schou- 
ten, condemned,  and  the  crews  distributed  in  the  homeward-bound  ^eet. 

In  the  sequel,  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  appealed  against  this 
decision  with  full  success,  the  East  India  Company  being  obliged  to  re- 
fund the  value  of  the  vessels  seized,  and  to  pay  the  seamen  their  wages 
till  the  day  of  their  arrival  in  Holland. 

Roggewein,  therefore,  made  a  few  discoveries,  but  no  voyager  has 
been  so  unfortunate  in  not  having  a  journalist  to  record  them  properly, 
or  even  to  afford  correct  latitudes  ;  longitudes  of  any  accuracy  not  being 
expected.  Neither  himself  nor  any  one  under  his  directions  gave  the 
narrative  to  the  world,  the  accounts  being  principally  anonymous,  often 
varying  in  the  circumstances,  as  well  as  contradictory  in  dates 


COMMODORE  ANSON.— 1740-44. 

As  it  was  foreseen,  in  the  latter  end  of  the  summer  of  the  year  1739, 
that  a  war  with  Spain  was  inevitable,  it  was  the  opinion  of  several  per- 
sons then  in  administration,  that  it  would  be  a  stroke  of  admirable  policy 
to  attack  the  enemy  in  some  of  her  distant  settlements,  and  thereby  de- 
prive her  of  that  treasure  by  which  alone  she  could  be  enabled  to  carry 
on  the  war.  The  squadron  under  Mr.  Anson's  command  consisted  of 
six  vessels  of  war  and  two  victuallers.     These  were  the 


GEORGE  ANSON. 


m 


Ships, 

Commanders. 

Guns. 

Men. 

Centurion 

George  Anson,  Esq. 

60 

400 

Gloucester 

Richard  Norris 

m 

300 

Severn 

Edward  Legge 

60 

300 

Pearl 

Matthew  Mitchell 

40 

250 

Wager 

Dandy  Kidd 

28 

160 

Trial  Sloop 

John  Murray 

8 

100 

On  the  18th  of  September,  1740,  the  squadron  weighed  anchor  from 
St.  Helen's.  It  had  been  proposed  to  embark  three  independent  compa- 
nies, of  100  men  each,  and  Colonel  Bland,  with  his  own  regiment,  as 
commander-in-chief  of  the  land  forces  ;  but  by  some  unaccountable  in- 
fatuation, this  appointment  dwindled  into  470  invalids,  draughted  from 
Chelsea,  and  commanded  by  Lieutenant-colonel  Cracherode.  Mr.  Anson 
made  the  best  of  his  way  to  Madeira,  but  had  the  mortification  not  to 
reach  it  till  the  25th  of  October. 

On  the  3d  of  November  weighed  from  the  Island  of  Madeira,  intend- 
ing to  go  to  St.  Jago,  one  of  the  Cape  de  Verde  islands  ;  but  next  day, 
when  at  sea,  on  considering  how  far  the  season  was  advanced,  he  altered 
this  resolution,  and  appointed  St.  Catherine's,  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  to 
be  the  first  place  of  rendezvous  in  case  of  separation.  On  the  IGlh  of 
December  they  discovered  the  land  of  Brazil,  and  on  the  evening  of  the 
ISlh  cast  anchor  at  the  north-west  point  of  the  Island  of  St.  Catherine's. 
Their  first  care,  after  having  moored  their  ships,  was  to  get  the  sick  men 
on  shore,  into  tents  which  were  erected  for  their  reception.  The  dis- 
eased on  board  the  Centurion  amounted  to  eighty,  nor  were  their  num- 
bers proportionably  less  on  board  the  other  vessels  ;  yet  the  land  air  was 
of  so  little  advantage,  that  they  buried  twenty-eight  from  the  commo- 
dore's ship,  and  carried  away  ninety-six  in  a  very  weak  condition. 

Their  next  employment  was  to  wood  and  water  the  squadron,  calk 
the  ships'  sides  and  decks,  and  secure  the  masts  and  rigging  against  tem- 
jpestuous  weather,  expected  in  the  voyage  round  Cape  Horn ;  the  dan- 
gers of  which  were  so  evident,  that  Mr.  Anson  appointed  three  different 
places  of  rendezvous.  The  first  was  Port  St.  Julian,  where  they  were 
to  be  stationed  for  ten  days,  and  take  in  salt ;  the  second,  the  Island  of 
Nostra  Senora  del  Socoro,  there  to  ply  off  and  on  as  long  as  their  store 
of  wood  and  water  would  permit ;  and  then  to  proceed  to  Juan  Fernan- 
dez, to  take  in  a  fresh  supply.  Under  these  orders  the  squadron  left  St. 
Catherine's  on  Sunday,  the  18th  of  January.  On  the  18th  of  February 
came  to  an  anchor  in  the  Bay  of  St.  Julian,  on  the  coast  of  Patagonia. 
That  part  of  the  southern  continent  of  America  unoccupied  by  the  Spa- 
niards, extending  from  their  settlements  to  the  straits  of  Magellan,  called 
by  that  name,  is  remarkable  for  being  one  continued  chain  of  downs, 
covered  with  long  tufts  of  coarse  grass,  interspersed  with  barren  spots, 
where  only  gravel  is  to  be  seen. 

The  principal  matter  which  detained  the  squadron,  the  refitting  of  the 
Trial,  being  completed,  the  commodore  held  a  council  of  officers  on  board 
the  Centurion,  and  informed  them  that  his  orders  were  to  secure  some 
port  in  the  South  Seas,  where  the  ships  in  the  squadron  might  careen  and 
refit ;  and  proposed  to  attack  Baidivia,  the  principal  frontier  of  Chili ;  to 
which  every  member  consenting,  new  instructions  were  given  to  the  cap- 
tains of  the  squadron,  importing  that  in  case  of  separation,  they  were  to 
cruise  ten  days  off  the  Island  of  Nostra  Senora  del  Socoro  ;  when,  if  not 
joined  by  the  commodore,  they  were  to  proceed  and  cruise  for  fourteen 

15 


170  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

ilays  off  the  harbour  of  Baldivia ;  after  which  time,  if  they  were  not 
joined  by  other  ships,  they  were  to  direct  their  course  to  Juan  Fernan- 
dez. Each  captain  was  at  the  same  time  directed  not  to  separate  from 
the  Centurion,  unless  in  case  of  unavoided  necessity,  more  than  two  miles. 

These  orders  being  issued,  the  squadron  stood  to  sea  on  the  27th  of 
February,  in  the  morning,  when  the  Gloucester,  not  being  able  to  purchase 
her  anchor,  was  obliged  to  cut  her  cable  and  leave  her  best  bower  behind. 
On  the  5th  of  March  discovered  the  land  of  Terra  del  Fuego,  which 
affords  a  most  dreaiy  prospect.  On  the  7th  they  opened  the  straits  Le 
Maire,  through  which,  though  seven  or  eight  leagues  long,  they  were 
hurried  by  the  rapidity  of  the  tide  in  about  two  hours  ;  and  as  these  are 
generally  reckoned  the  boundaries  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans, 
the  men  began  to  flatter  themselves  that  their  dangers  were  almost  at  an 
end,  and  that  they  should  soon  take  possession  of  those  riches  on  which, 
in  imagination,  they  had  so  long  feasted.  But  they  had  scarcely  reached 
the  southern  extremity  of  the  straits,  before  these  agreeable  prospects 
entirely  vanished ;  the  wind  shifted  and  blew  in  violent  squalls,  and  the 
tide  turned  furiously  against  them,  driving  to  the  eastward  with  such 
rapidity,  that  the  two  sternmost  vessels,  the  Wager  and  the  Anna  Pink, 
with  the  utmost  difficulty,  escaped  being  dashed  in  pieces  on  the  shore 
of  Staten-Iand. 

For  above  three  months  from  this  time  they  struggled  with  such  dan- 
gers and  distresses  as  are  scarcely  to  be  paralleled,  and  had  such  a  con- 
tinual succession  of  tempestuous  weather  as  astonished  the  oldest  sailors 
on  board,  who  unanimously  confessed  that  what  they  had  hitherto  called 
storms  were  inconsiderable  gales,  compared  to  the  violence  of  these 
winds,  which  raised  such  short  and  mountainous  waves  as  filled  them  with 
continual  terror  ;  for  had  but  one  of  these  waves  broke,  it  must,  in  all 
probability,  have  sent  them  to  the  bottom. 

On  the  1st  of  April  the  weather,  after  having  been  a  little  more  mode- 
rate, returned  to  its  former  violence,  the  sky  looked  dark  and  gloomy, 
and  the  wind  began  to  freshen  and  blow  in  squalls  ;  and  appearances  were 
such  as  plainly  indicated  a  severe  tempest  at  hand  :  and  accordingly,  on 
the  3d,  there  came  on  a  storm,  which  exceeded  in  violence  and  duration 
all  they  had  hitherto  encountered.  On  the  13th  they  all  expected,  by 
their  reckoning,  in  a  few  days  to  have  enjoyed  some  ease  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean  ;  but  the  next  morning,  between  one  and  two  o'clock,  the  weather 
clearing  up  a  little,  and  the  moon  shining  out  on  a  sudden,  the  Anna 
Pink  made  a  signal  for  seeing  land  right  ahead  ;  and  it  being  then  only 
two  miles  distant,  they  were  under  the  most  dreadful  apprehensions  of 
running  on  shore  ;  and  had  not  the  wind  suddenly  shifted,  or  had  not  the 
moon  shone  out,  every  ship  must  have  perished.  They  found  this  land, 
to  their  great  astonishment,  to  be  Cape  Noir,  though  they  imagined  they 
were  10  degrees  more  to  the  west ;  for  the  currents  had  proved  so  strong, 
that  when  expecting  to  be  in  19  degrees  west,  they  had  not  really  ad- 
vanced half  that  distance.  After  this  mortifying  disappointment,  they 
stood  away  to  the  southward,  with  the  weather  tolerably  favourable,  tiH 
the  24th  of  April,  on  the  evening  of  which  day  the  wind  increased  to 
a  prodigious  storm,  and  about  midnight  the  weather  became  so  thick 
that  the  whole  squadron  separated,  nor  met  again  till  they  reached  tho 
Island  of  Juan  Fernandez.  To  add  to  their  other  misfortunes,  the  scur- 
vy began  to  make  such  havock,  that  on  board  the  Centurion  only  it  car- 
ried off  forty-three  men  in  the  month  of  April,  and  twice  that  number  in 
May. 


GEORGE  ANSON.  171 

On  the  8th  of  May  the  Centurian  arrived  off  the  Island  of  Socoro,  in 
which  station  they  cruised  for  several  days,  in  hope  of  being  joined  by 
some  of  the  scattered  ships,  but  to  no  purpose.  On  the  22d  of  May  the 
fury  of  all  the  storms  they  had  hitherto  encountered  seemed  to  combine 
and  conspire  their  destruction.  Almost  all  the  sails  were  split,  the  rig- 
ging destroyed,  and  a  mountainous  wave  breaking  over  them  on  the 
starboard  quarter,  gave  the  vessel  so  prodigious  a  shock,  that  several  of 
the  shrouds  were  broke,  and  the  ballast  and  stores  so  strangely  shifted, 
that  she  lay  on  her  larboard  side.  The  wind  at  length  abating  a  little, 
they  began  to  exert  themselves  to  stirrup  the  shrouds,  reef  new  lanyards, 
and  mend  the  sails  ;  during  which  they  ran  great  risk  of  being  driven  on 
shore  on  the  Islandof  Chiloe.  But  the  wind  happily  shifting  to  the  south- 
ward, they  steered  off  land  with  only  a  mainsail,  there  being  no  person  left 
to  manage  the  helm  but  the  master  and  the  reverend  Mr.  Walter,  the  com- 
modore's chaplain,  the  rest  being  all  busily  employed  in  securing  the  masts 
and  bending  the  sails.  After  encountering  many  difficulties,  they  at  length 
reached  the  Island  of  Juan  Fernandez  on  the  9th  of  June,  in  a  most  de- 
sponding condition,  with  great  scarcity  of  fresh  water,  and  the  crew  so 
diseased  that  there  were  not  more  than  ten  foremast  men  in  a  watch  ca- 
pable of  doing  duty  ;  and  even  some  of  these  were  lame  and  incapable 
of  going  aloft.  i 

The  Island  of  Juan  Fernandez,  when  first  discovered,  appears  to  be 
surrounded  with  craggy  broken  precipices  ;  the  prospect,  however,  on  a 
nearer  approach,  changes  into  a  landscape  the  most  beautiful  that  can  be 
imagined  ;  a  prospect  which,  though  at  any  time  sufficiently  delightful, 
was  uncommonly  so  to  the  few  surviving  sailors,  who  now  beheld  a  land 
covered  with  wooJs,  interposed  with  carpets  of  the  loveliest  verdure,  and 
watered  with  numerous  streams  and  cascades,  the  idea  of  tasting  which, 
revived  the  spirits  of  those  who  were  almost  dying  of  thirst,  The  nor- 
thern side  is  composed  of  a  range  of  craggy  hills,  covered  with  aromatic 
trees,  none  of  which  are  large  enough  to  yield  timber  of  any  considerable 
size.  Water-cresses,  purslain,  wild  sorrel,  turnips,  Sicilian  radishes, 
and  many  other  vegetables  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  cure  of  the  scurvy, 
abound  everywhere  on  the  island  ;  the  numberless  beauties  of  which 
cannot  fail  to  charm  all  those  who  have  a  true  taste  for  the  beauties  of 
unassisted  nature,  which  greatly  excel  the  laboured  efforts  of  art.  The 
great  number  of  goats  which  former  navigators  have  found  on  this  island, 
have  been  much  diminished  by  the  dogs  set  on  shore  here  by  the  Spa- 
niards. Among  the  goats  which  fell  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Anson's  men, 
were  found  two  or  three  of  a  very  venerable  aspect,  which,  from  having 
their  ears  slit,  they  imagined  had  formerly  belonged  to  Selkirk.  The 
dogs,  having  increased  to  a  prodigious  number,  have  made  themselves 
masters  of  all  the  accessible  parts  of  the  island,  while  the  few  remaining 
goats  inhabit  the  high  grounds,  and  secure  the  narrow  passes  by  a  con- 
stant guard. 

The  people  of  the  Centurion  fed  on  the  sea-lion,  under  the  denomina- 
tion of  beef.  Great  numbers  of  these  animals  haunt  this  coast  during 
the  winter.  They  are  in  size,  when  at  the  full  growth,  from  twelve  to 
twenty  feet  in  length,  and  from  eight  to  fifteen  feet  in  circumference  : 
and  so  extremely  fat,  that,  after  having  been  cut  through  the  skin,  there 
is  at  least  twelve  inches  of  fat  before  either  lean  or  bone  is  found,  and 
the  fat  of  the  largest  frequently  yielded  a  butt  of  oil.  As  soon  as  the 
ship  was  brought  to  a  safe  birth,  their  first  care  was  to  erect  tents  for  the 
reception  of  the  sick,  the   number  of  whom   amounted  to  167  persons, 


172  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

twelve  or  fourteen  of  whom  died  in  the  boats  on  being  exposed  to  the 
fresh  air.  As  the  greater  part  were  quite  helpless,  it  was  necessary  to 
remove  them  in  their  hammocks  ;  in  which  laborious  employment  the 
commodore  and  his  ofiicers  assisted.  So  inveterate  was  the  disorder, 
that  its  first  fury  did  not  abate  in  less  than  twenty  days  after  landing  ; 
and,  for  the  first  ten  or  twelve  days,  they  buried  six  or  seven  people  dailv  j 
and  it  seemed  as  if  no  remedy  could  have  repelled  the  power  of  the  dis- 
ease. Their  next  care  was  thoroughly  to  cleanse  the  ship,  which  had 
become  extremely  loathsome.  This  done,  they  proceeded  with  all  pos- 
sible expedition  to  lay  in  wood  and  water,  in  doing  which  they  made  the 
more  haste,  as  they  feared  the  return  of  Pizarro's  squadron  :  for  it  waa 
evident,  from  the  heaps  of  fresh  ashes  and  scattered  fragments  of  fish- 
bones, that  they  had  been  lately  here,  as  it  was  impossible  the  English 
should  be  yet  acquainted  with  their  melancholy  situation.  Nor  were 
they  in  present  circumstances,  with  only  about  thirty  healthy  hands,  to 
man  a  sixty- gun  ship,  a  match  for  any  vessel  of  force. 

A  few  days  after  the  Centurion  had  arrived,  the  Trial  sloop  appeared 
in  sight,  and  was  brought  into  the  harbour  by  the  help  of  some  men  des- 
patched to  her  assistance  by  Mr.  Anson,  in  the  long-boat,  as  she  had 
only  three  men,  besides  Captain  Saunders,  her  commander,  and  her  lieu- 
tenant, able  to  stand  to  the  sails  ;  having  buried  thirty  of  her  hands,  and 
the  rest  being  down  with  the  ecurvy.  The  Gloucester  was  discovered 
to  leeward  on  the  21st  of  June,  making  the  best  of  her  way  for  the 
island,  though  they  were  not  convinced  that  it  was  her  till  the  26lh, 
when  she  appeared  full  in  view,  and  the  commodore  immediately  des- 
patched his  long-boat  on  board,  with  a  supply  of  fresh  water  and  vegeta- 
bles, of  which  she  was  in  the  utmost  need.  Without  this  timely  relief 
her  people  had  certainly  e.xpired  through  thirst,  being  then  at  the  allovv- 
ance  of  a  pint  of  water  each  man  per  day,  and  having  no  more  than 
enough  to  serve  them  twenty-four  hours,  even  at  that  quantity.  It  was 
the  misfortune  of  this  vessel  to  be  continually  driving  on  and  off  the 
island,  till  the  23d  of  July,  sometimes  out  of  sight  of  the  land,  in  the 
greatest  distress  imaginable,  and  in  the  utmost  danger  of  foundering. 
These  difficulties  were  occasioned  by  contrary  winds  and  currents  ;  but, 
at  length,  however,  she  made  the  north-west  point  of  the  island,  and  came 
to  an  anchor  at  a  time  when  her  people  began  to  despair  of  almost  ever 
gaining  land,  or  seeing  any  period  to  their  calamities  but  by  death.  The 
Anna  Pink  arrived  about  the  middle  of  August,  which,  with  the  Trial 
and  Gloucester,  mentioned  above,  were  the  only  vessels  that  ever  joined 
the  squadron  ;  for  the  Severn  and  Pearl,  having  parted  from  the  commo- 
dore off  Cape  Horn,  with  difficulty  reached  Brazil,  whence  they  made 
the  best  of  their  way  back  to  Europe  ;  while  the  Wager  was  wrecked 
on  the  coast. 

The  Gloucester,  before  she  made  Juan  Fernandez,  having  been  in  sight 
of  Masa  Fuero,  Mr.  Anson,  imagining  that  either  the  Pearl  or  Severn 
might  touch  there,  despatched  the  Trial  to  inquire  if  his  suspicions  were 
well  founded.  She  returned,  after  having  sailed  quite  round  the  island, 
without  getting  any  intelligence  of  them.  The  Spaniards  have  always  re- 
presented Masa  Fuero,  which  they  call  the  Lesser  Fernandez,  as  a  barren 
rock,  without  wood,  water,  or  any  kind  of  provisions  ;  but  this  is  not  true. 
Thelatterpartof  the  month  of  August  was  taken  up  in  unloading  the  Anna 
Pink,  which,  upon  a  close  examination  by  the  carpenters,  was  judged  unfit 
for  service,  and  therefore,  upon  a  petition  of  Mr.  Gerard,  her  master,  to 
the  commodore,  she  v/a&  purchased  for  the  use  of  the  squadron,  for  XSOO, 


GEORGTB  ANSON.  'ITS 

to  be.  paid  to  the  owners  ;  and  her  men,  together  with  the  master,  were 
sent  on  board  the  Gloucester.  The  remaining  crews,  which  were  now 
to  be  distributed  among  three  ships,  amounted  only  to  350,  a  number  in- 
sufficient to  have  manned  the  Centurion  alone,  and  at  the  best  scarcely- 
enough  to  work  them  all.  About  eleven  in  the  morning  of  the  8ih  of 
September,  they  discovered  a  sail ;  when  the  Centurion,  being  in  the 
greatest  forv\ardness,  made  after  her  as  fast  as  possible.  Night  coming 
on,  they  lost  sight  of  the  chase,  and  the  next  morning  could  not  discern 
her  from  the  mast-head,  but  kept  on  a  south-east  course,  in  hope  of  suc- 
cess, supposing  her  bound  to  Valparaiso. 

About  three,  on  the  morning  of  the  12tb,  a  brisk  gale  springing  up  at 
west-south-west,  obliged  them  to  lie  upon  a  north-west  tack,  which  at 
break  of  day  brought  them  within  sight  of  a  sail,  at  about  five  leagues 
distance,  but  not  the  same  they  had  seen  before.  She  appeared  to  be 
a  largo  vessel,  and  upon  hoisting  Spanish  colours,  and  bearing  toward 
the  Centurion,  the  commodore  ordered  everything  ready  for  an  engage- 
ment ;  but  upon  coming  nearer,  she  appeared  to  be  a  merchantman, 
without  a  single  tier  of  guns,  and  had  mistaken  the  commodore  for  her 
consort.  She  surrendered  at  the  fire  of  only  four  shot ;  and  Mr.  Sau- 
marez,  first  Ueutenaut  of  the  Centurion,  was  ordered  to  take  possession 
of  the  prize,  and  to  send  all  the  prisoners  on  board  the  commodore. 
This  vessel  was  called  the  Nuestra  Senora  del  Monte  Carmelo  ;  her 
cargo  consisted  of  sugar,  cloth,  cotton,  and  tobacco,  having  also  on  board 
some  trunks  of  wrought  plate,  and  twenty- three  serons  of  dollars,  each 
weighing  upward  of  200  pounds  averdupois.  The  intelligence  obtained 
from  the  prisoners  was  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  the  English  ships  ; 
for  they  now  first  learned  part  of  the  fate  of  Pizarro's  squadron,  and  also 
that  the  viceroy  of  Mexico  had  just  taken  off  an  embargo  that  had  been 
laid  upon  all  shipping  in  those  seas,  supposing  that  the  English  squadron 
had  perished  in  doubling  Cape  Horn,  it  being  solely  on  their  account  that 
the  embargo  had  been  laid  on. 

It  appearing  from  letters  on  board  the  prize  that  several  other  mer- 
chantmen were  at  sea,  between  Callao  and  Valparaiso,  the  commodore 
having  put  ten  of  his  own  hands  on  board  the  Trial  sloop,  sent  her  to 
cruise  off  the  last-mentioned  port.  At  the  same  time  he  ordered  Cap- 
tain Mitchell,  in  the  Gloucester,  to  proceed  to  50  degrees  south  latitude, 
and  cruise  off  the  Island  of  Paita,  till  he  should  be  joined  by  the  Centu- 
rion ;  and  he  put  on  board  her  twenty-three  sailors  and  six  passengers 
from  the  Carmelo,  which  was  fitted  out  as  a  cruiser,  with  four  six  pound- 
ers and  two  swivels.  The  Centurion  and  her  prize  weighing  from  the 
Bay  of  Juan  Fernandez  on  the  19th  of  September,  took  her  course  to 
the  eastward,  proposing  to  join  the  Trial  off  Valparaiso. 

On  the  24th,  in  the  evening,  they  came  up  with  the  latteV,  having 
taken  a  prize  of  600  tons  burthen,  laden  with  a  cargo  like  that  of  the 
Carmelo,  with  about  £5000  in  ready  money.  On  the  27th,  the  weather 
proving  more  moderate,  the  captain  of  the  Trial  came  on  board  the 
Centurion,  bringing  with  him  an  instrument,  subscribed  by  himself  and 
all  his  officers,  setting  forth  that  the  vessel  was  so  leaky  and  defective, 
that  it  was  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives  they  staid  on  board ;  upon  which, 
the  commodore  having  ordered  everything  that  was  useful  to  be  put  on 
board  the  prize  she  had  taken,  together  with  Captain  Saunders  and  the 
crew,  she  was  scuttled  and  sunk.  It  was  now  resolved  to  join  Captain 
Mitchell,  stationed  off  Paita,  that  if  a  Spanish  squadron  should  be  fitted 
out  at  Callao,  they  might  be  able  to  give  it  a  warm  reception.     With 

15* 


iVT^  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

•this  view  they  stood  to  the  northward,  and  on  the  5th  of  November  fell 
in  with  a  sail,  which,  after  pursuing  till  an  hour  and  a  half  after  dark, 
struck  to  them.  Mr.  Dennis,  third  lieutenant  of  the  Centurion,  was  sent 
with  sixteen  men  to  take  possession.  She  was  called  the  Santa  Teresa 
de  Jesus,  burthen  about  300  tons,  bound  from  Guaquil  to  Callao,  laden 
with  hides,  timber,  tobacco,  cocoa,  cocoa  nuts,  quinto  thread,  (which  is 
very  strong,  and  made  of  a  species  of  grass,)  quinto  cloth,  and  about 
£170  in  money.  All  the  prisoners,  on  their  first  falling  into  the  hands 
of  the  English,  had  exhibited  the  utmost  signs  of  fear,  expecting  nothing 
but  the  most  barbarous  treatment ;  they  even  acknowledged,  so  strong 
was  their  prepossessions,  that  after  having  for  some  time  experienced  Mr. 
Anson's  civil  and  polite  behaviour,  they  could  scarcely  credit  their  own 
/eelings. 

On  the  10th  of  November,  lying  at  three  leagues  distance  from  the 
Island  of  Lobos,  looking  out  for  the  Gloucester,  whose  station  had  been 
appointed  here,  they  discovered  a  sail,  which  Lieutenant  Brett  was 
ordered  to  chase,  with  the  Trial's  pinnace  and  barge.  It  was  soon  disco- 
vered that  it  was  not  the  Gloucester ;  and  as  there  was  no  wind,  the 
lieutenant  soon  came  up  with,  and  boarded  her,  without  any  resistance 
on  the  part  of  the  enemy.  She  was  called  the  Nuestra  Senora  del  Car- 
min,  bound  from  Panama  to  Callao,  about  270  tons  burthen,  had  forty- 
three  mariners  on  board,  with  various  kinds  of  merchandise,  of  little 
value  to  the  captors,  but  a  greater  loss  to  the  Spaniards  than  any  capture 
made  in  any  part  of  the  world ;  for  the  cargo  was  of  more  than  400,000 
dollars  value,  prime  cost,  at  Panama.  From  the  prisoners  they  learned, 
that  a  few  days  before,  a  vessel  had  entered  Paita,  the  master  of  which 
told  the  governor  he  had  been  chased  by  a  very  large  ship,  which,  from 
her  size  and  appearance,  he  imagined  to  be  one  of  the  English  squadron, 
and  that  the  governor  had  immediately  sent  an  express  to  Lima,  to  carry 
the  news  to  the  viceroy,  while  the  royal  officer  residing  at  Piifla  had  been 
busily  employed  in  removing  both  the  king's  treasure  and  his  own  to  Piura, 
a  town  fourteen  leagues  within  land.  Still  there  was  a  large  sum  of 
money,  belonging  to  the  merchants,  lodged  in  the  custom-house,  and 
intended  to  be  shipped  on  board  a  vessel  then  in  the  port,  which  was  to 
sail  with  all  expedition  for  Sonsonnate,  on  the  coast  of  Mexico,  to  pur- 
chase part  of  the  cargo  of  the  Manilla  ship.  It  was  at  once  conjectured 
that  the  ship  which  had  chased  the  vessel  into  Paita  was  the  Gloucester  ; 
and  as  the  vessel  in  which  the  money  was  to  be  shipped  was  esteemed  a 
prime  sailer,  they  concluded  they  had  no  chance  of  coming  up  with  her 
if  suffered  to  escape  out  of  the  port. 

As  they  were  now  discovered,  and  the  coast  would  soon  be  alarmed, 
so  as  to  prevent  cruising  to  any  advantage,  the  commodore  resolved  to 
endeavout  to  surprise  the  place  that  very  night.  This  attack  upon  Paita, 
besides  the  treasure  it  promised,  afforded  a  prospect  of  supplying  them- 
selves with  provisions,  of  which  they  were  in  great  want ;  and  an  oppor- 
tunity of  setting  their  prisoners  on  shore,  who  were  now  very  numerous, 
and  made  a  greater  consumption  than  their  stock  was  capable  of  furnish- 
ing for  any  considerable  time.  The  town  consists  of  about  200  houses, 
each  one  story  high,  the  walls  being  made  of  split  cane  and  mud,  and 
the  roofs  only  a  covering  of  leaves.  The  only  defence  of  Paita  was  a 
fort,  without  either  ditch  or  outwork,  surrounded  with  a  brick  wail  of  small 
strength,  in  which  were  mounted  eight  pieces  of  cannon,  and  the  garrison 
consisted  of  only  one  weak  company  ;  though  it  was  thought  the  town 
was  able  to  arm  300  men. 


GEORGE  ANSON.  175 

To  prevent  any  confusion  which  might  arise  from  ignorance  of  the 
streets,  two  Spanish  pilots  were  ordered  to  conduct  the  Ueutenant  to  the 
best  landing  place,  and  to  be  his  guides  on  shore.  When  the  ships  were 
within  fiveleagues  of  Paita,  about  ten  o'clock  at  night,  Lieutenant  Brett, 
with  the  boats  under  his  command,  put  off,  and  arrived,  without  being 
discovered,  at  the  mouth  of  the  bay  ;  though  he  had  no  sooner  entered 
it,  than  some  of  the  people  on  board  a  vessel  riding  at  anchor  there,  per- 
ceived him,  and  immediately  getting  into  their  boat,  rowed  toward  the 
shore,  crying  out,  "  The  English,  the  English  dogs,"  &c.,  by  which  the 
town  was  alarmed,  and  the  men  in  the  boats  could  perceive  several  lights 
hurrying  backward  and  forward  in  the  fort,  and  other  marks  of  the  inhabi- 
tants being  in  motion.  On  this,  Mr.  Brett  encouraged  his  men  to  pull 
up  briskly,  and  go  on  shore  before  the  guns  could  be  fired  from  the  fort ; 
when,  drawing  up  his  men  under  the  shelter  of  a  narrow  street,  they 
instantly  marched  to  the  parade,  a  large  square  at  the  end  of  this  street, 
with  drums  beating,  and  loud  shouts  of  joy  ;  and  were  there  saluted  with 
a  volley  of  small  shot  from  some  merchants  who  had  posted  themselves 
in  a  gallery  that  ran  round  the  governor's  house  ;  but  upon  the  fire  being 
returned,  they  abandoned  the  post,  and  left  the  JSnglish  in  possession  of 
the  parade.  The  lieutenant  now  divided  his  men  into  two  parties,  one  of 
which  he  ordered  to  surround  the  government-house,  and,  if  possible,  to 
secure  the  governor,  while  he  marched  at  the  head  of  the  other  to  the 
fort,  with  an  intention  to  force  it,  but  the  enemy  had  made  their  escape 
over  the  walls  on  his  approach,  so  that  he  entered  without  opposition. 
Thus  the  town  was  taken  in  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  from  their 
first  landing,  with  the  loss  of  one  man  killed  and  two  wounded. 

In  the  interim,  the  Centurion  and  the  other  ships,  making  easy  sail 
toward  Paita,  opened  the  bay  about  seven  in  the  morning,  and  at  twelve 
came  to  an  anchor  at  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  town.  This  day  and 
the  following  were  spent  in  sending  on  board  the  treasure,  consisting  of 
the  most  valuable  things  to  be  found  in  the  town,  with  boat-loads  of  hogs, 
fowls,  and  other  refreshments.  The  commodore,  to  prevent  surprise  in 
the  night,  sent  a  reinforcement  on  shore,  which  was  posted  in  all  the 
passages  leading  to  the  parade,  while  the  streets  were  fortified  with  barrica- 
does  six  feet  high  for  better  security  ;  but  as  the  enemy  remained  quiet 
all  night,  they  resumed  their  former  employment  of  loading  and  sending 
off  their  boats  early  in  the  morning.  The  business  at  Paita  being  pretty 
well  over  on  the  third  day,  the  15th  of  November,  the  commodore  put 
all  the  prisoners,  eighty-eight  in  number,  on  shore,  agreeably  to  his  pro- 
mise, giving  orders  that  they  should  be  secured  in  one  of  the  churches 
till  the  men  were  ready  to  embark.  Mr.  Brett  then,  agreeably  to  his 
orders,  distributed  pitch,  tar,  and  other  combustibles,  of  which  there  were 
great  quantities  in  the  town,  into  houses  situated  in  different  streets  ;  that 
the  place  being  fired  in  different  parts  at  the  same  time,  the  destruction 
might  be  the  more  violent  and  sudden,  and  that  the  Spaniards  might  not 
be  able  to  extinguish  it  when  he  was  gone.  Then,  having  spiked  the 
cannon  in  the  fort,  and  set  fire  to  such  houses  as  were  to  windward,  he 
collected  his  men,  of  whom  there  was  only  one  missing,  and  marched 
toward  the  boats,  which  were  ready  to  carry  them  off.  They  were  just 
quitting  the  beach,  and  the  last  man  was  actually  embarked,  when  they 
heard  the  voice  of  a  person  entreating  them  to  take  him  on  board,  for  by 
this  time  the  beach  was  so  covered  with  smoke  that  they  could  not  discern 
any  one,  when  one  of  the  boats  advancing  to  the  place  whence  the  sound 
issued,  found  the  man  whom  they  had  inissed  up  to  the  chin  in  water, 


176  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

having  waded  as  far  as  he  durst,  as  he  could  not  swim,  and  excessivefy 
terrified  lest  he  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

They  weighed  anchor  from  the  coast  of  Paita  about  midnight,  on  the 
16th  of  November,  the  squadron  being  increased  to  six  sail,  that  is,  the 
Centurion,  the  Trial's  prize,  the  Carmelo,  the  Carmin,  the  Teresa,  and 
the  Solidad.  They  stood  to  the  westward,  and  in  the  morning  the  com- 
modore ordered  the  ships  to  spread  to  a  considerable  distance,  in  order 
to  look  out  for  the  Gloucester,  for  they  then  drew  near  the  station 
where  she  had  been  ordered  to  cruise.  On  the  morning  of  the  18th 
they  discovered  her,  with  a  small  vessel  in  tow,  which  joined  them  about 
three  in  the  afternoon,  when  they  learned  that  Captain  Mitchell  had  taken 
two  prizes,  one  of  which  was  a  snow,  whose  cargo  consisted  of  wine, 
brandy,  and  olives,  and  about  £7000  in  specie  ;  and  the  other  was  a 
launch,  the  people  on  board  which,  when  taken  by  the  Gloucester's  barge, 
were  at  dinner,  served  up  in  silver  dishes.  Notwithstanding  this  circum- 
stance, the  prisoners  alleged  that  they  were  very  poor :  having  nothing 
on  board  but  cotton  made  up  in  jars,  which,  being  removed  on  board  the 
Gloucester,  were  strictly  examined,  when  the  whole  appeared  to  be  a 
very  extraordinary  piece  of  false  package  ;  there  being  cancealed  among 
the  cotton  doubloons  and  dollars  to  the  amount  of  £12,000. 

They  now  steered  for  Quibo,  an  island  situated  in  the  mouth  of  the 
Bay  of  Panama ;  and  the  commodore  proposed,  after  they  had  supplied 
themselves  with  water,  to  steer  for  the  southern  parts  of  California,  or 
the  adjacent  coast  of  Mexico,  there  to  cruise  for  the  Manilla  galleon, 
which  was  known  to  be  at  sea  on  her  way  to  Acapulco  ;  and  as  it  was 
BOW  only  the  middle  of  November,  and  the  ship  did  not  usually  arrive 
till  the  middle  of  January,  they  did  not  doubt  of  getting  on  that  station 
time  enough  to  intercept  her.  They  were  eight  sail  in  all,  but  the  Soli- 
dad  and  the  Santa  Teresa  being  bad  sailers,  and  delaying  the  rest  of  the 
squadron,  the  commodore  ordered  them  to  be  cleared  of  everything  use- 
ful and  then  burnt ;  and,  having  given  proper  instruction  to  the  Gloucester 
and  the  other  vessels,  the  Centurion  held  on  her  way  for  Quibo.  On  the 
3d  of  December  they  came  in  sight  of  it.  This  island  is  extremely  con- 
venient for  wooding  and  watering,  as  trees  grow  close  to  high  water  mark> 
and  a  rapid  stream  of  fresh  water  runs  over  the  sandy  beach  into  the 
sea ;  so  that  in  two  days  the  Centurion  was  able  to  lay  in  a  sufficient 
stock  of  these  articles. 

On  the  12th  of  December  they  stood  from  Quibo  to  the  westward, 
having  scuttled  and  sunk  the  last  prize,  and  being  joined  by  the  Glou- 
cester, which,  having  sprung  her  fore- topmast,  had  been  separated  from 
them.  The  commodore  proceeded  to  cruise  for  the  Manilla  ship,  having 
first  given  directions  to  his  squadron  to  use  all  possible  despatch  in  get- 
ting to  the  northward  of  the  harbour  of  Acapulco  ;  and,  in  case  of  separa- 
tion, to  rendezvous  at  the  middle  island  of  the  Tres  Marias ;  and,  if  they 
missed  him  there,  at  the  Island  of  Macao,  on  the  coast  of  China.  They 
made  no  doubt  that  they  should  soon  arrive  at  their  intended  station,  as 
they  expected  to  fall  in  with  the  regular  trade  wind  ;  but,  to  their  great 
mortification,  were  harassed  with  contrary  winds,  heavy  rains,  or  dead 
calms  for  near  a  month,  and  began  to  despair  of  intercepting  the  Manilla 
«hip ;  but  at  length  their  spirits  were  somewhat  revived  by  a  favourable 
change  in  the  wind. 

The  commodore  sent  his  barge,  on  the  12th  of  February,  in  search  of 
the  harbour  of  Acapulco,  and  to  discover  whether  the  galleon  was  arrived* 
which  returned  on  the  19th,  with  the  news  that  they  had  discovered  th» 


GEORGE  ANSON.  177 

harbour,  and  that,  having  got  within  the  island  that  lies  at  the  mouth  of 
it,  they  were  doubtful  how  to  proceed ;  but,  while  lying  upon  their  oars, 
ignorant  that  they  were  then  at  the  very  place  sought  for,  they  discerned 
a  light  near  the  surface  of  the  water ;  on  which,  plying  their  paddles, 
and  nnoving  as  silently  as  possible  in  the  direction,  they  found  it  to  be  a 
fishing  canoe,  which  they  surprised,  with  three  negroes  on  board. 

From  these  men  the  commodore  learned  that  the  galleon  arrived  at 
Acapulco  on  the  9th  of  January,  old  stile  ;  that  she  had  delivered  her 
cargo,  was  taking  in  water  and  provisions,  in  order  to  return,  and  that  the 
viceroy  of  Mexico  had  by  proclamation  fixed  her  departure  from  Acapulco 
on  the  14th  of  March,  new  stile.  This  news  gave  them  great  joy,  as 
they  had  no  doubt  but  she  must  certainly  fall  into  their  hand.'.  On  the 
1st  of  March,  the  time  for  her  departure  drawing  nigh,  the  commodore 
disposed  his  five  ships  in  such  a  manner,  that  they  took  up  a  compass  of 
at  least  twenty-four  leagues,  within  which  nothing  could  pass  without  its 
being  known  by  the  whole  squadron ;  the  vessels  being  so  judiciously 
ranged,  that  by  signals  information  could  be  easily  and  speedily  given  of 
what  passed  in  any  part  of  the  line.  From  this  time  to  the  23d  they 
were  in  hopes  of  her,  satisfied  that  she  had  not  quitted  the  harbour ;  but, 
by  this  time,  the  whole  fleet  beginning  to  be  in  want  of  water,  it  was 
agreed  to  proceed  to  Chequetan  to  supply  themselves  :  and  lest  the  gal- 
leon, taking  advantage  of  their  absence,  might  slip  out  to  sea,  Mr.  Hughes, 
lieutenant  of  the  Trial's  prize,  was  ordered  to  cruise  off  the  port  of  Aca- 
pulco for  twenty-four  days,  that  if  she  should  set  sail,  they  might  be 
speedily  informed  of  it. 

On  the  1st  of  April  they  were  advanced  so  far  toward  Chequetan  that 
the  commodore  sent  out  two  boats  to  discover  the  watering  place,  which 
being  gone  several  days,  their  water  ran  so  short,  that  if  they  had  not 
met  with  a  daily  supply  of  turtle,  which  prevented  their  being  confined 
only  to  salt  provisions,  they  must  have  suflfered  very  considerably  in  so 
warm  a  climate.  The  harbour  lies  in  17  degrees  36  minutes  north  lati- 
tude, and  is  about  thirty  leagues  to  the  westward  of  Acapulco  ;  from 
which  last  place  there  is  a  bank  of  sand  extending  eighteen  leagues 
to  the  westward,  against  which  the  sea  breaks  so  violently,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  land  with  boats  on  any  part,  yet  the  ground  is  so  clean, 
that  durmg  the  fair  season  ships  may  anchor  in  great  safety,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  a  mile  or  two  from  the  shore.  As  the  country  appeared  to  be 
well  inhabited,  the  commodore  had  hopes  to  have  easily  procured  some 
fresh  provisions,  and  other  refreshments,  of  which  they  were  in  want  ; 
and,  therefore,  on  the  morning  after  his  coming  to  an  anchor,  despatched 
a  company  of  forty  men,  well  armed,  into  the  country,  to  try  if  they  could 
discover  any  town  or  village,  and  settle  a  correspondence  with  the  inhabi- 
tants. These  men  having  proceeded  about  five  miles  from  the  harbour, 
found  two  roads,  leading  east  and  west ;  choosing  the  latter,  they  marched 
along  a  beaten  track,  which  led  them  into  a  large  plain,  on  one  side  of 
which  they  saw  a  sentinel  on  horseback,  with  a  pistol  in  his  hand  ;  but 
the  horse  starting  at  the  glittering  of  their  arms,  turned  suddenly  round 
and  ran  away  at  a  great  rate  ;  the  man  being  very  nigh  unhorsed,  and 
dropping  his  hat  and  pistol  on  the  ground.  The  sailors  in  vain  pursued 
to  discover  the  place  of  his  retreat,  till  quite  wearied  out,  and  finding  no 
water  to  quench  their  thirst,  returned.  As  it  now  appeared  they  had 
not  more  hands  than  were  necessary  to  man  a  fourth-rate  man-of-war,  it 
was  resolved  to  scuttle  and  destroy  the  Trial's  prize,  the  Carrinelo,  and 
the  Carmin,  and  to  divide  their  crews  and  the  richest  part  of  their  car- 


178  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

goes  between  the  Centurion  and  Gloucester,  which  was  done  accordingly 
on  the  27th  of  April ;  and  next  morning  the  Centurion  and  Gloucester 
weighed  anchor,  leaving  behind  a  letter  corked  up  in  a  bottle,  and  placed 
in  a  canoe,  which  was  fixed  to  a  grapnel  in  the  middle  of  the  harbour, 
directed  to  Mr.  Hughes,  and  acquainting  him  that  the  commodore  was 
returned  to  his  station  off  Acapulco  ;  that  he  intended  to  quit  it  in  a  few- 
days,  and  return  to  the  rest  of  his  squadron,  which  continued  cruising  to 
the  southward.  These  last  words  were  inserted  to  deceive  the  Spaniards, 
in  case  the  canoe  should  fall  into  their  hands,  as  afterward  happened. 

On  Sunday,  the  2d  of  May,  they  were  advanced  within  three  leagyes 
of  Acapulco,  and  finding  nothing  of  the  cutter,  Mr.  Anson  took  it  for 
granted  that  it  was  taken  and  carried  into  the  port ;  and,  therefore,  wrote  a 
polite  letter  to  the  governor,  requesting  him  to  deliver  up  Mr.  Hughes  and 
his  people  ;  and  in  return  promised  to  release  all  the  Spanish  prisoners 
now  in  his  hands,  some  of  whom  were  people  of  figure. 

While  waiting  for  an  answer  to  this  letter,  the  sentinel  from  the  mast- 
head called  out,  that  he  saw  a  boat  under  sail,  at  a  considerable  distance 
to  the  south-east ;  and  on  their  approach  they  found,  to  their  great  joy, 
it  was  their  own. 

Quitting  now  the  coast  of  America,  they  stood  for  China,  the  6th  of 
May,  1742,  and  stood  over  to  the  south-west,  with  a  view  of  meeting 
with  a  north-east  trade  wind,  which  the  accounts  of  former  writers  had 
taught  them  to  expect  at  the  distance  of  seventy  or  eighty  leagues  from 
the  land.  The  Gloucester,  which  was  become  very  bad,  was  cleared  of 
everything  by  the  15th  of  August,  and  then  set  on  fire,  being  no  longer 
fit  for  any  purpose  ;  the  flames  gaining  upon  her  gradually,  and  her  guns 
going  off  one  by  one,  as  the  flames  reached  them,  till  at  length,  about  six 
in  the  morning,  she  blew  up. 

On  the  23d  of  August,  at  daybreak,  they  had  the  pleasure  of  discover- 
ing two  islands  to  the  westward,  and  the  next  morning  a  third  ;  on  which 
their  boat  was  despatched  to  one  of  them,  which  returned  in  the  evening 
with  an  account  that  they  could  find  no  anchoring  ground. 

On  the  26th  lost  sight  of  Annatacan,  but  next  morning  discovered 
three  other  islands,  which  were  afterward  found  to  be  Saypan,  Tinian,  and 
Aiguigan,  and  immediately  steering  toward  the  middlemost  of  the  three, 
which  was  Tinian,  hoisted  Spanish  colours,  with  a  red  flag  at  the  fore-top- 
mast head,  in  hope  that,  by  giving  their  ship  the  appearance  of  the  Manilla 
galleon,  they  might  decoy  some  of  the  inhabitants  on  board.  A  Spaniard 
who  came  off,  being  immediately  examined,  said,  that  the  island  was 
uninhabited,  notwithstanding  which,  it  wanted  but  few  of  the  accommoda- 
tions that  could  be  expected  in  the  most  cultivated  country  ;  that  the 
air  was  good,  and  there  was  plenty  of  excellent  water  ;  that  the  woods 
afforded  sweet  and  sour  oranges,  limes,  lemons,  and  cocoa  nuts  in  great 
abundance,  besides  a  fruit  peculiar  to  these  islands,  which  served  instead 
of  bread  ;  and  that  hogs,  poultry,  and  black  cattle  ran  wild  in  prodigious 
numbers  ;  that  the  Spaniards  at  Guam  made  use  of  it  as  a  store  for 
supplying  the  garrison,  of  which  he  was  a  sergeant,  and  was  now  sent 
thither  with  twenty-tvvo  Indians  to  jerk  beef,  which  he  was  to  load  for 
Guam  on  board  a  bark  of  fifteen  tons,  which  was  then  at  anchor  near 
the  shore. 

Next  morning  a  party  of  men,  well  armed,  were  sent  on  shore  to  secure 
the  landing  place,  which  was  done  without  difficulty,  as  the  Indians  were 
fled  into  the  woods.  They  found  many  huts,  which  saved  them  the  trouble 
of  erecting  tents  ;  and  the  largest  of  these,  being  twenty  feet  long  and 


GEORGE  ANSON.  179 

fifteen  broad,  was  immediately  fitted  up  as  an  hospital,  to  which  they 
removed  the  sick,  amounting  to  128. 

Tinian  lies  in  15  degrees  8  minutes  north  latitude,  about  twelve  mile 
long  and  six  broad,  and  is  one  of  the  Ladrone  islands,  which,  altogether, 
are  upward  of  twenty  in  number.  The  soil  is  everywhere  dry  and 
healthy  ;  the  land  rises  in  gentle  slopes  to  the  middle  of  the  island,  though 
the  gentle  course  of  its  ascent  is  often  interrupted  by  valleys  of  an  easy 
descent,  many  of  which  wind  irregularly  through  the  country.  These 
valleys,  and  the  gradual  swellings  of  the  ground,  occasioned  by  their 
different  combinations,  were  most  elegantly  diversified  by  the  mutual 
encroachment  of  woods  and  lawns,  which  bordered  on  each  other,  and 
ran  in  large  tracts  through  the  island. 

The  cattle,  of  which  it  is  not  uncommon  to  see  herds  of  several  hun- 
dreds feeding  together  in  a  large  meadow,  are  all  of  them  milk  white, 
except  their  ears,  which  are  generally  brown  or  black  ;  and,  though  there 
are  no  inhabitants,  yet  the  clamour  and  frequent  appearance  of  domestic 
poultry,  which  range  the  woods  in  great  numbers,  perpetually  excites  the 
idea  of  the  neighbourhood  of  farms  and  villages,  and  greatly  contributes 
to  the  cheerfulness  and  beauty  of  the  place.  They  likewise  found  abun- 
dance of  wild  hogs,  which  were  excellent  food  ;  but  as  they  were  a  fierce 
animal,  it  was  necessary  to  shoot  them,  or  hunt  them  with  large  dogs, 
which  they  found  upon  the  place  at  their  landing,  and  which  belonged 
to  the  detachment  sent  to  procure  provisions  for  the  garrison  at  Guam. 

The  bread  fruit  above-mentioned,  which  the  Indians  call  rhymay,  was 
constantly  eaten  by  the  Centurion's  people  instead  of  bread,  and  so 
universally  preferred  to  it,  that  none  of  the  ship's  bread  was  expended 
during  their  stay  on  the  island.  It  grows  on  a  lofty  tree,  which,  toward 
the  top,  divides  into  large  and  spreading  branches  ;  the  leaves  are  of  a 
deep  green,  notched  about  the  edges,  and  from  a  foot  to  eighteen  inches 
in  length.  The  fruit,  which  is  found  indiflferently  on  all  parts  of  the 
branches,  is  in  form  nearly  oval,  is  covered  with  a  rough  rind,  is  generally 
seven  or  eiglit  inches  long,  each  growing  singly,  and  not  in  clusters. 
This  island  was  formerly  well  peopled,  but  a  contagious  sickness  having, 
about  fifty  years  ago,  swept  away  almost  all  the  inhabitants  of  Guam, 
Rota,  and  Tinian,  the  Spaniards  compelled  the  survivers  on  the  last  two 
islands  to  remove  to  Guam,  where  they  languished  after  their  native  island, 
till  in  a  few  years  the  greatest  part  died  of  grief. 

On  the  night  of  the  22d  of  September,  when  it  was  excessive  dark, 
the  wind  blew  from  the  eastward  with  such  fury,  that  those  on  board 
despaired  of  riding  out  the  storm.  At  this  time  Mr.  Anson,  who  was 
ill  of  the  scurvy,  and  most  of  the  hands  were  onshore,  and  all  the  hopes 
of  safety  of  those  on  board  seemed  to  depend  on  putting  immediately  to 
sea  ;  all  communication  between  the  ship  and  theisfand  being  destroyed, 
aa  it  was  impossible  a  boat  could  live. 

About  one  o'clock  a  strong  gust,  attended  with  rain  and  lightning,  drove 
them  to  sea,  where,  being  unprepared  to  struggle  with  the  fury  of  the 
wind  and  waves,  they  expected  each  moment  to  be  their  last.  When, 
at  daybreak,  it  was  perceived  by  those  on  shore  that  the  ship  was  missing, 
they  concluded  her  lost,  and  most  of  them  begged  the  commodore  to  send 
the  boat  round  the  island  to  look  for  the  wreck.  In  the  midst  of  their 
gloomy  reflections  the  commodore  formed  a  plan  for  extricating  them  from 
their  present  situation  ;  which  was  by  hauling  the  Spanish  bark  on  shore, 
sawing  her  asunder,  and  lengthening  her  twelve  feet ;  which  would  enlarge 
her  to  near  forty  tons  burthen,  and  enable  her  to  carry  them  all  to  China. 

The  carpenters  of  the  Gloucester  and  Trial  fortunately  were  both  on 


180  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

shore  with  their  chests  of  tools  ;  the  smith  also  was  on  shore  with  his 
forge,  and  several  of  his  implements  of  trade.  And  it  was  now  found 
on  examination  that  the  tents  on  shore,  with  the  sails  and  rigging  belong- 
ing to  the  bark,  and  the  spare  cordage  which  had  been  accidentally  landed 
from  the  Centurion,  would  be  sufficient  to  rig  anew  the  vessel ;  the  bot- 
tom of  which  they  proposed  to  pay  with  a  mi;iture  of  tallow  and  lime. 

But  a  most  discouraging  circumstance  now  occurred,  which  was,  that 
they  had  neither  compass  nor.  quadrant  on  the  island.  At  length,  on 
rummaging  a  chest  belonging  to  the  Spanish  bark,  they  found  a  small 
compass,  which,  though  not  much  superior  to  those  made  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  school-boys,  was  to  them  of  the  utmost  value. 

When  these  several  obstacles  were  removed,  and  all  things  were  so 
forward  that  they  had  fi.xed  on  the  5th  of  November  as  the  day  on  which 
they  intended  to  put  to  sea,  it  happened,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  11th  of 
October,  that  one  of  the  Gloucester's  men,  being  upon  a  hill,  saw  tVie 
Centurion  at  a  distance  ;  who  running  with  the  ntn.ost  speed  toward  the 
landing  place,  he,  in  the  way,  saw  some  of  his  comrades,  to  whom  he 
cried  out,  in  great  ecstasy,  "The  sliip,  the  ship!"  By  five  o'clock  she 
was  visible  to  them  all,  after  an  absence  of  nineteen  days ;  and  a  boat 
was  sent  off  with  eighteen  men,  to  reinforce  her,  and  with  fresh  meats 
and  fruit  for  the  refreshment  of  the  crew ;  she  the  next  afternoon  cast 
anchor  in  the  road,  when  the  commodore  went  on  board,  and  was  received 
with  hearty  and  sincere  congratulations. 

On  the  14th  of  October,  being  the  third  day  after  their  arrival,  a  sudden 
gust  of  wind  drove  her  to  sea  a  second  time  ;  but  in  about  five  days 
more  the  weather  being  fair,  they  returned  again  to  anchor,  and  relieved 
those  they  had  left  behind  from  their  second  fears  of  being  deserted  by 
their  ship.  On  coming  to  an  anchor  after  the  second  driving  off  to  sea, 
they  laboured  incessantly  to  get  in  a  stock  of  water  sufficient  for  their 
passage  to  Macao,  which  having  completed  by  the  20th  of  October,  they 
set  fire  to  the  bark  and  proa,  hoisted  in  their  boats,  and  got  under  sail, 
steering  away  toward  the  south  end  of  the  Island  of  Macao, 

The  Ladrone  or  Marian  islands  were  first  discovered  by  Magellan,  in 
the  year  1521,  and  from  the  account  given  of  the  first  two  he  fell  in  with, 
it  should  seem  that  they  were  those  of  Saypan  and  Tinian,  for  they  are 
described  as  very  beautiful  islands,  and  as  lying  between  fifteen  and  six- 
teen degrees  of  north  latitude.  There  are  generally  reckoned  twelve  of 
these  islands ;  but  if  the  small  islets  and  rocks  are  counted,  their  whole 
number  will  amount  to  above  twenty.  They  were  formerly  well  inhabited, 
and  about  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  Guam,  Rota,  and  Tinian, 
are  said  to  have  contained  50,000  people  ;  but  since  that  time  Tinian 
has  been  entirely  depopulated,  and  no  more  than  two  or  three  hundred 
Indians  have  been  left  at  Rota. 

Guam  is  esteemed  about  thirty  leagues  in  circumference,  and  contains 
near  4000  inhabitants,  of  which  1000  are  supposed  to  live  in  the  city  of 
San  Ignatio  de  Agana,  where  the  governor  usually  resides  ;  this  island, 
on  account  of  the  refreshment  it  yields  to  the  Manilla  ship,  is  reckoned 
a  post  of  some  consequence  ;  it  has  two  castles,  and  a  battery  of  five 
pieces  of  cannon  near  the  sea-shore.  The  Spanish  troops  employed  here 
consists  of  three  companies  of  foot,  of  between  forty  and  fifty  men  each. 

The  Indians  are  a  strong,  bold,  well-made  people,  and  from  some  of 
their  practices,  particularly  the  contrivance  of  the  flying  proa,  seem  to  be 
nowise  defective  m  understanding.  These  flying  proas,  which  for  ages 
past  have  been  the  only  vessels  they  have  used,  are  of  a  very  extraordi- 
nary fabric,  and  are  said,  with  the  help  of  a  trade  wind,  to  be  capable  of 


GEORGE  ANSON.  181 

ranning  near  twenty  miles  in  an  hour.  The  head  and  stem  of  this  vessel 
are  exactly  alike,  but  her  two  sides  are  widely  different.  That  intended 
to  be  always  the  lee  side  being  flat,  wjiile  the  windward  side  is  built 
rounding  in  the  manner  of  other  vessels  ;  and  to  prevent  her  oversetting, 
which,  from  her  small  breadth  and  the  straight  run  of  her  leeward  side, 
would  otherwise  infallibly  happen,  there  is  a  frame  laid  out  from  her  to 
windward,  to  the  end  of  which  is  fastened  a  hollow  log,  fashioned  into 
the  shape  of  a  boat.  The  weight  of  the  frame  is  intended  to  balance 
the  proa,  and  the  small  boat,  which  is  always  in  the  water,  is  to  prevent 
her  oversetting  to  the  windward.  The  body  is  formed  of  two  pieces 
joined  endwise,  and  sewed  together  with  bark,  for  there  is  no  iron  used 
in  her  construction.  She  is  about  two  inches  thick  at  the  bottom,  which 
at  the  gunwhale  is  reduced  to  less  than  one.  The  proa  usually  carries 
six  or  seven  Indians ;  two  of  which  are  placed  in  the  head  and  stern, 
who  steer  the  vessel  alternately  with  a  paddle,  according  to  the  tack  she 
goes  on,  he  in  the  stern  being  the  steersman  ;  while  the  other  Indians 
are  employed  in  bailing  out  the  water  which  she  accidentally  ships,  or 
in  setting  and  trimming  the  sail. 

Having  doubled  the  southern  extremity  of  Formosa,  as  they  were 
passing  by  the  rocks  of  Vele  Rete,  there  was  an  outcry  of  fire  on  the 
fore-castle,  on  which  the  whole  crew  instantly  flocked  together  in  the 
utmost  confusion ;  so  that  the  ofl[icers  were  for  some  time  unable  to 
reduce  them  to  order ;  which,  however,  being  at  length  effected,  it  was 
perceived  that  the  fire  proceeded  from  the  bricks  in  the  furnace  being 
overheated,  which  had  communicated  the  fire  to  the  adjacent  wood- work  ; 
but  by  puUing  down  the  brick-work  it  was  easily  extinguished.  About 
midnight,  on  the  5th  of  November,  they  made  the  main  land  of  China ; 
and  not  rightly  knowing  their  course,  lay  by  for  the  night,  and  before 
sunrise  were  surprised  to  find  themselves  in  the  midst  of  an  incredible 
number  of  fishing  boats,  which  spread  over  the  sea  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach  ;  and  though  some  of  the  boats  had  five,  and  none  less  than  three,  men 
in  each,  the  commodore  could  neither  by  signs,  by  pronouncing  the  word 
Macao,  nor  by  showing  a  number  of  dollars,  entice  any  one  to  come  on  board 
and  pilot  him  ;  for  the  disregard  these  people  paid  to  everything  but  their 
own  employment,  and  their  want  of  curiosity,  was  perfectly  surprising. 

On  the  6th,  standing  to  the  westward,  within  two  leagues  of  the  coast, 
they  perceived  a  boat  ahead  blow  a  horn  and  wave  a  red  flag,  which  they 
considered  as  a  signal  of  some  sort  intended  for  them  ;  but  in  this  they 
were  mistaken,  for  it  was  only  a  signal  to  order  the  people  to  leave  off 
fishing.  About  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  9th,  a  Chinese  pilot 
came  on  board  the  Centurion,  and  told  them,  in  broken  Portuguese,  that 
he  would  carry  the  ship  into  Macao  for  thirty  dollars  ;  which  being  paid 
him  they  proceeded.  About  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  12th,  they 
came  to  the  harbour  of  Macao,  a  small  island  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Canton,  which  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Portuguese,  who  have  a  governor 
here  ;  who,  however,  subsists  merely  by  the  courtesy  of  the  Chinese, 
Two  days  after  this,  a  mandarin  of  the  first  rank,  with  two  of  an  inferior 
class,  came  alongside  of  the  Centurion,  with  a  large  retinue  of  officers 
and  servants  and  a  band  of  music. 

The  commodore  observing  his  astonishment,  harangued  on  the  strength 
of  his  vessel  ;  and  observed,  that  his  thus  civilly  requesting  a  supply, 
which  he  was  so  well  able  to  take  by  force,  was  a  proof  of  the  friend- 
ship of  his  disposition  ;  and,  therefore,  desired  that  a  daily  supply  of 
provisions  might  be  ordered  him,  lest  his  men  should  be  reduced  by  fa- 

16 


182  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

mine  to  turn  cannibals  and  prey  upon  their  own  species ;  in  which  case, 
it  was  easy  to  be  foreseen,  that,  independent  of  their  friendship  to  their 
comrades,  they  would  in  point  of  luxury  prefer  the  plump  well-fed  Chinese 
to  their  own  emaciated  shipmates.  The  discourse  produced  the  desired 
effect ;  the  mandarin  allowed  the  justness  of  Mr.  Anson's  observations, 
and  promised  that  he  should  have  every  necessary  assistance,  as  soon  as 
the  state  of  his  circumstances  had  been  considered  by  a  council  of  man- 
darins at  Canton. 

On  the  6th  of  April  the  Centurion  weighed  for  Typa,  and  having  got 
into  Macao  road,  completed  her  water  as  she  passed  along  ;  and  her  whole 
business  being  finished  by  the  19th,  she  stood  out  to  sea.  It  happened 
soon  after  this,  that  the  commodore,  who  had  taken  some  Chinese  sheep 
to  sea,  inquiring  of  his  butcher,  "  Why  he  had  lately  seen  no  mutton  at 
his  table  1"  the  fellow  seriously  answered,  *' That  there  were  but  two 
sheep  alive  ;  and  if  his  honour  would  give  him  leave,  he  proposed  to 
keep  those  for  the  entertainment  of  the  general  of  the  galleon." 

On  the  last  day  of  May,  new  stile,  they  came  in  sight  of  Cape  Espiritu 
Santo,  where  they  continued  to  cruise  till  the  20th  of  June,  old  style, 
when  about  sunrise  the  long-expected  vessel  came  in  sight,  having  tho 
standard  of  Spain  flying  at  the  top-gallant-mast  head,  and  to  the  commo- 
dore's great  surprise,  bore  down  upon  him,  for  he  could  hardly  beUeve, 
what  afi&rward  appeared  to  be  the  case,  that  he  knew  his  ship,  and  was 
resolved  to  fight  him.  The  engagement  soon  began,  and  lasted  an  hour 
and  a  half,  when  the  galleon  struck  to  the  Centurion,  after  having  had 
sixty-seven  men  killed  and  eighty-four  wounded,  among  whom  was  the 
general,  Don  Jeronimo  de  Montero,  a  Portuguese  gentleman,  who  acted 
with  the  utmost  bravery.  The  Centurion  had  only  two  killed  and  seven- 
teen wounded,  all  of  whom,  except  one,  afterward  recovered.  The  great 
slaughter  on  board  the  galleon  was  chiefly  owing  to  thirty  excellent  marks- 
men, who,  being  placed  in  the  tops  before  the  engagement  began,  did 
execution  with  almost  every  shot  they  fired.  The  prize,  which  was  named 
the  Nostra  Signora  de  Cabadonga,  carried  550  men,  and  thirty-six  guns 
mounted  for  action,  besides  twenty-eight  patararoes,  each  of  which  was 
adapted  to  carry  a  four-pound  ball.    Her  cargo  was  worth  £400,000  sterling. 

It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  transports  on  board,  when,  after  all  their 
reiterated  disappointments,  they  at  length  saw  their  wishes  accomplished. 
But  their  joy  was  near  being  suddenly  damped  by  a  very  alarming  acci- 
dent ;  for  no  sooner  had  the  galleon  struck,  than  one  of  the  lieutenants, 
coming  to  Mr.  Anson  to  congratulate  him  on  his  prize,  whispered  him, 
that  tha  Centurion  was  dangerously  on  fire  near  the  powder-room.  The 
commodore  received  this  shocking  intelligence  without  any  apparent  emo- 
tion, and  taking  care  not  to  alarm  his  people,  gave  the  necessary  orders 
for  extinguishing  the  fire,  which  was  soon  done,  though  its  first  appea- 
rance was  very  terrible. 

The  commodore  appointed  the  Manilla  vessel  to  be  a  post-ship  in  his 
majesty's  service,  and  gave  the  command  of  her  to  Mr,  Saumarez,  his 
first  lieutenant ;  and  having  taken  proper  measures  for  securing  the  pri- 
soners, whose  numbers  greatly  exceeded  those  of  his  own  people,  he 
steered  back  for  the  river  of  Canton. 

On  the  14th  tho  Centurion  cast  anchor  short  of  Bocca  Tigris,  forming 
the  mouth  of  that  river ;  and  here  they  were  visited  by  the  mandarin, 
who  commanded  the  forts  at  Bocca  Tigris,  to  inquire  what  the  ships  were, 
and  whence  they  came  1  and  to  take  an  account  of  Mr.  Anson's  force, 
which  he  was  to  send  to  the  Governor  of  Canton. 


:l 


GEORGE  ANSON.  183 

While  he  remained  in  this  city,  a  fire  broke  out  in  the  suburbs.  On 
the  first  alarm,  Mr.  Anson  went,  with  his  officers  and  boat's  crew,  to 
give  his  assistance  ;  and  found  that  the  fire  had  begun  in  a  sailor's  shed, 
Rnd  that  by  the  slightness  of  the  buildings,  and  the  awkwardness  of  the 
Chinese,  it  was  getting  head  apace ;  but  observing  that  it  was  running 
ilong  a  wooden  cornice,  which  blazed  fiercely,  and  would  soon  coramu- 
aicate  the  flame  to  a  considerable  distance,  he  ordered  his  people  to 
oegin  with  tearing  away  that  cornice  ;  but  Mr.  Anson  was  informed,  that 
«8  there  was  no  mandarin  there,  who  alone  has  power  to  command  on 
these  occasions,  the  Chinese  would  make  him  answerable  for  whatever 
was  pulled  down  under  his  directions  ;  whereupon  he  ordered  his  people 
to  desist,  and  sent  them  to  the  English  factory  to  assist  in  taking  care 
of  the  company's  treasure  and  effects.  The  Chinese  contented  them- 
selves with  viewing  the  fire,  and  holding  one  of  their  idols  near  it,  which 
they  seemed  to  expect  should  check  its  progress.  At  length  a  mandarin 
came,  attended  by  four  or  five  hundred  firemen,  who  made  some  feeble 
efforts  to  pull  down  the  neighbouring  houses  ;  but  by  this  time,  the  fire 
being  greatly  extended,  had  got  among  the  merchants'  warehouses ;  and 
the  firemen  wanting  both  skill  and  spirit,  were  incapable  of  checking  its 
violence,  so  that  it  was  feared  the  whole  city  would  be  destroyed.  In 
this  confusion  the  viceroy  went  thither,  and  immediately  sent  to  beg  Mr. 
Anson's  assistance,  who  was  told  he  might  take  what  methods  he  thought 
proper  to  extinguish  the  conflagration. 

On  this,  the  commodore  went  a  second  time,  taking  with  him  about 
forty  of  his  people,  who,  exerting  themselves  with  the  agility  and  boldness 
peculiar  to  sailors,  soon  put  an  end  to  the  fire  ;  and  as  the  buildings  were 
most  of  them  on  one  floor,  and  the  materials  slight,  the  men  escaped 
without  any  other  injury  than  a  few  inconsiderable  bruises.  The  30th 
of  November  being  at  length  appointed  for  Mr.  x\nson's  visit  to  the 
viceroy,  he  was  attended  from  the  outer  gate  of  the  city  to  the  great 
parade  before  the  emperor's  palace,  where  the  viceroy  resided,  by  a  guard 
of  200  soldiers  ;  and  in  fine  parade  he  found  a  body  of  troops,  to  the 
number  of  10,000,  drawn  up  under  arms,  and  making  a  fine  appearance, 
being  all  new  clothed  on  the  occasion 

The  Centurion  got  under  sail  on  the  15th  of  October,  1743,  and  on 
the  3d  of  January  came  to  an  anchor  at  Prince's  Island,  in  the  straits  of 
Sunda,  and  continued  there  till  the  8th,  taking  in  wood  and  water,  when 
she  weighed  and  stood  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  where,  on  the  11th  of 
March,  she  came  to  an  anchor  in  Table  Bay.  Mr.  Anson  continued  here 
till  the  3d  of  April,  1744,  when  he  put  to  sea,  and,  on  the  19th  of  the 
month,  was  in  sight  of  the  Island  of  St.  Helena,  but  did  not  touch  at  it. 

On  the  13th  of  June  they  got  sight  of  the  Lizard,  and  on  the  evening 
of  the  15th,  to  their  inexpressible  joy,  came  safe  to  anchor  at  Spithead. 
On  his  arrival  Mr.  Anson  learned  that,  under  cover  of  a  thick  fog,  he  had 
run  through  a  French  fleet,  which  was  at  that  time  cruising  in  the  chops 
of  the  channel. 


COMMODORE  BYRON.— 1764-65-66. 

His  late  majesty  having  formed  a  design  of  prosecuting  discoveries  in 
the  South  Seas,  was  pleased,  in  the  year  1764,  to  give  orders  for  carrying 
this  design  into  execution  ;  in  consequence  of  which,  the  Dolphin  and 
Tamar  ships-of-war  were  fitted,  manned,  and  victualled  for  this  expedi- 


184  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

tion.  Mr.  Byron  was  commander-in-chief,  and  Captain  Mouat  had  the 
honour  of  commanding  under  him.  On  the  3d  of  July  the  commodore 
hoisted  his  broad  pendant,  and  they  sailed  in  prosecution  of  the  voyage. 

On  the  13th  of  September  they  came  to  an  anchor  in  the  road  of 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  when  the  commodore  paid  a  visit 
to  the  governor,  who  received  him  in  state.  Fifteen  guns  were  fired  in 
honour  of  the  English  flag  ;  and  the  governor  afterward  returned  the 
commodore's  visit  on  board  the  Dolphin. 

They  weighed  anchor  on  the  16th  of  October,  and  on  the  22d  the 
commodore  informed  the  crew  they  were  not  bound,  as  they  thought, 
directly  to  the  East  Indies,  but  on  a  voyage  to  make  discoveries  ;  and 
that,  on  their  behaving  well,  the  lords  of  the  admiralty  had  ordered  them 
double  pay,  and  other  emoluments. 

On  the  i6th  of  November,  after  experiencing  some  bad  weather,  they 
steered  for  Cape  Blanco,  shaping  their  course  agreeable  to  the  chart  of 
it  laid  down  in  Anson's  Voyage.  On  the  20th  saw  Penguin  Island  and 
as  Port  Desire  was  said  to  be  a  few  leagues  to  the  north-west,  a  boat  was 
sent  out,  which  found  it.  On  the  21st  they  entered  the  harbour,  and 
the  commodore,  in  his  boat,  attended  by  two  other  boats,  went  to  sound 
it.  He  landed,  and  found  the  country  all  one  continued  down,  having 
neither  shrubs  nor  trees.  They  had  a  sight  of  four  beasts,  near  thirteen 
hands  high,  and  in  shape  like  a  deer,  which  they  took  to  be  guanicoes. 

On  the  5th  of  December  the  ships  got  under  sail,  and,  during  that  and 
the  following  day,  had  pleasant  weather  and  a  fine  gale.  They  now 
steered  for  Pepys'  Isle,  which  is  described  as  lying  in  47  degrees  south 
latitude,  but  it  could  not  be  found. 

On  the  20th  ran  close  in  shore  to  Cape  Virgin  Mary,  and  having  ob- 
served asmoke  on  shore,  and  a  number  of  guanicoes  feeding  in  the  valleys, 
they  came  to  anchor.  The  commodore  observed  a  number  of  men  on 
horseback,  riding  to  and  fro,  opposite  the  ship,  and  waving  something 
white,  which  he  took  to  be  an  invitation  to  land  ;  and,  as  he  was  anxious 
to  know  what  people  these  were,  he  went  in  one  boat  with  a  party  of 
men  well  armed  ;  the  first  lieutenant,  with  a  separate  party,  following  in 
another.  When  they  came  near  the  shore,  the  whole  appeared  to  amount 
to  500  persons,  drawn  up  on  a  stony  point  of  land  that  ran  far  into  the 
sea.  Though  the  commodore  did  not  observe  they  had  any  weapons,  he 
made  signs  to  retreat  a  little,  which  they  readily  did,  and  kept  shouting 
very  loud  while  the  crew  were  landing. 

Mr.  Byron  now  advanced  alone,  but  as  he  approached,  the  Indians 
retreated  ;  he,  therefore,  made  signs  that  one  of  them  should  come  for- 
ward, which  was  complied  with.  The  person  who  advanced  appeared 
to  be  a  chief,  and  was  very  near  seven  feet  in  height ;  round  one  of  his 
eyes  was  a  circle  of  black  paint,  and  a  white  circle  round  the  other ;  the 
rest  of  his  face  was  painted  in  streaks  of  various  colours.  He  had  the 
skin  of  a  beast,  with  the  hair  inward,  thrown  over  his  shoulders.  The 
commodore  and  the  Indian  having  coinphmented  each  other,  in  language 
equally  unintelligible  to  either,  they  walked  together  toward  the  main 
body  of  Indians,  few  of  whom  were  shorter  than  the  height  above-men- 
tioned, and  the  women  were  large  in  proportion. 

On  the  21st  of  December  they  began  sailing  up  the  Strait  of  Ma- 
gellan, with  a  view  to  take  in  a  stock  of  wood  and  water.  On  the  26th 
steered  for  Port  Famine,  and  came  to  an  anchor  close  to  the  shore  the 
next  day,  at  noon  In  this  place  they  found  drift-wood  enough  to  have 
supplied  a  thousand  vessels.      The   commodore  went  four  miles   up 


COMMODORE  BYRON.  185 

Sedger  River,  but  could  proceed  no  farther,  the  trees  which  had  fallen 
across  the  stream  impeding  the  boat's  way.  Some  of  these  were  so 
large,  that  four  men  joined  hand  in  hand  could  not  enclose  them  ;  and, 
among  the  rest,  the  pepper  tree  was  found.  These  woods  abound  in 
parrots  and  other  beautiful  birds.  The  quantity  of  fish  that  was  daily 
taken  was  equal  to  the  supply  of  both  the  crews  ;  and  the  commodore 
shot  as  many  geese  and  ducks  as  furnished  several  tables  besides  his  own. 

Both  ships  having  taken  in  sufficient  wood  and  water  by  the  4th  of 
January,  1765,  they  sailed  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  in  quest  of 
Falkland's  islands  ;  but  the  wind  dying  away,  were  obliged  to  come  to 
an  anchor  the  day  following. 

On  the  12th  they  saw  land,  which  was  taken  for  De  Wert's  islands, 
and  at  the  same  time  ether  land  to  the  south,  which  was  judged  to 
be  what  is  called  New  Islands  in  the  charts.  This  land  consists  chiefly 
of  mountainous  and  barren  rocks,  on  which  were  great  numbers  of  birds. 
On  the  14th  they  saw  a  flat  island,  covered  with  tufts  of  grass  as  large 
as  bushes  ;  and  on  the  following  day  the  commodore  sent  a  boat  from 
each  ship,  to  examine  an  opening  which  had  the  appearance  of  a  har- 
bour ;  which  being  discovered,  they  stood  in  for  it  in  the  afternoon,  and 
found  it  excellent  beyond  their  most  sanguine  hopes.  Soon  after  this 
they  entered  another  harbour,  to  which  Mr.  Byron  gave  the  name  of 
Port  Egmont,  from  the  title  of  the  nobleman  at  that  time  first  lord  of 
the  admiralty.  This  harbour  is  represented  to  be  the  finest  in  the  world, 
and  capacious  enough  to  contain  the  whole  navy  of  England,  in  full  se- 
curity ;  there  is  plenty  of  fresh  water  in  every  part  of  it ;  and  geese, 
ducks,  snipes,  and  other  edible  birds,  abound  in  such  numbers,  that  the 
sailors  were  tired  with  eating  them.  The  commodore  was  once  unex- 
pectedly attacked  by  a  sea-lion,  and  extricated  himself  from  the  impending 
danger  with  great  difficulty  ;  they  had  many  battles  with  this  animal,  the 
killing  of  one  of  which  was  frequently  an  hour's  work  for  six  men  ;  one  of 
them  almost  tore  to  pieces  the  commodore's  mastiflf  dog,  by  a  single  bite. 
The  commodore  thought  this  the  same  place  which,  in  Cowley's  Voyage, 
is  called  Pepys'  Island  ;  but  he  took  possession  of  the  harbour,  and  all  the 
adjacent  islands,  by  the  name  of  Falkland's  islands,  for  George  the 
Third,  King  of  Great  Britain. 

On  Sunday,  January  the  27th,  they  left  Port  Egmont,  and  the  same 
day  saw  a  remarkable  head-land,  which  was  named  Cape  Tamar ;  soon 
after  which  they  passed  a  rock,  which  Mr.  Byron  called  the  Edistone, 
and  then  sailed  between  that  and  a  head-land,  to  which  he  gave  the  name 
of  Cape  Dolphin.  The  distance  from  Cape  Tamar  to  Cape  Dolphin  is 
about  eight  leagues,  and  from  its  appearance  was  called  Carlisle  Sound, 
though  it  is  since  known  to  be  the  northern  entrance  of  the  strait  between 
the  two  principal  islands.  Next  day  the  commodore  gave  the  name  of 
Berkley's  Sound  to  a  deep  inlet  between  the  islands.  At  eight  in  the 
evening  they  proceeded  to  the  westward;  and  the  6th  of  February  stood 
in  for  Port  Desire,  at  the  mouth  of  which  they  came  to  an  anchor,  and 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  Florida,  a  store-ship,  which  they  had 
expected  from  England. 

On  the  19th  they  again  sailed.  On  the  20th  reached  Port  Famme, 
when  the  Dolphin  and  Tamar  having  taken  as  much  provision  out  of  the 
store-ship  as  they  could  find  room  for,  the  master  received  orders  to  sail 
for  England.  Having  narrowly  escaped  the  dreadful  eflTects  of  a  storm 
on  the  3d  of  March,  boats  were  repeatedly  sent  out  till  the  6th  in  search 
of  a  proper  place  to  anchor  in ;  and  at  length  the  Dolphin  was  moored 

16* 


186  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

in  a  little  bay  opposite  Cape  Quod  ;  and  the  Tamar,  which  couM  not 
work  up  so  far,  about  six  miles  to  the  eastward  of  it.  This  part  of  the 
strait  being  only  four  miles  over,  its  appearance  is  dreary  and  desolate 
beyond  imagination,  owing  to  the  prodigious  mountains  on  each  side, 
which  rise  above  the  clouds,  and  are  covered  with  perpetual  snow.  On 
the  12th  an  officer  was  sent  in  a  boat,  in  search  of  a  harbour  ;  and  in 
two  days  he  returned  with  an  account  that  there  were  five  bays  between 
the  ship  and  Cape  Upright,  in  any  one  of  which  they  might  anchor 
securely. 

On  the  IGth,  perceiving  they  lost  ground  on  every  tack,  they  came  to 
an  anchor  ;  but  finding  the  ground  to  be  rocky,  they  weighed  again,  and 
every  man  on  board  was  on  deck  the  rest  of  the  day  and  the  whole  night, 
during  which  time  the  rain  poured  down  on  them  in  unremitting  torrents. 
On  the  23d  again  set  sail,  and  in  a  few  hours  had  sight  of  the  South 
Sea,  which  rolled  a  prodigious  swell  on  them.  On  the  25th  two  boats, 
which  had  been  sent  in  search  of  anchoring  places,  returned  with  an 
account  that  they  had  found  two,  but  neither  of  them  very  eligible.  On 
the  28Lh  the  Tamar  narrowly  escaped  being  dashed  to  pieces  against  the 
rocks,  by  the  parting  of  the  cable  to  her  best  bower  anchor.  The  Dol- 
phin, therefore,  stood  again  into  the  bay,  and  sent  her  proper  assistance, 
after  which  they  both  anchored  for  the  night  ;  a  night  the  most  dreadful 
they  had  yet  known.  The  winds  were  so  violent  as  perfectly  to  tear  up 
the  sea,  and  carry  it  higher  than  the  heads  of  the  masts  :  a  dreadful  sea 
rolled  over  them,  and  broke  against  the  rocks,  with  a  noise  as  loud  as 
thunder.  Happily  they  did  not  part  their  cables,  or  they  must  have 
been  dashed  in  pieces  against  these  rocks. 

The  ships  came  to  an  anchor  on  the  Ith  of  April,  in  a  bay  which  had 
been  discovered,  proposing  to  take  in  wood  and  water.  While  they 
remained  here,  several  of  the  natives  made  a  fire  opposite  the  ship  ;  on 
which  signals  were  made  for  them  to  come  on  board  ;  but  as  they  would 
not,  the  commodore  went  on  shore,  and  distributed  some  trifles,  which 
gave  great  pleasure  ;  he  likewise  divided  some  biscuit  among  them,  and 
was  surprised  to  remark,  that  if  a  bit  of  it  fell  to  the  ground,  not  one 
of  them  would  stoop  to  take  it  up  without  his  permission :  some  of  the 
sailors  being. at  this  time  cutting  grass,  for  a  few  sheep  which  the  com- 
modore had  on  board,  the  Indians  instantly  ran  to  their  assistance,  and 
tearing  up  the  grass  in  large  quantities,  soon  filled  the  boat.  On  his- 
return,  they  followed  in  their  canoe  till  they  came  near  the  ship,  at  which 
they  gazed  with  the  most  profound  astonishment.  Four  were  at  length 
prevailed  on  to  go  on  board  ;  and  the  commodore,  with  a  view  to  their 
diversion,  directed  one  of  the  midshipmen  to  play  on  the  violin,  while 
some  of  the  seamen  danced  ;  the  poor  Indians  were  extravagantly  de- 
lighted ;  and  one  of  them,  to  testify  his  gratitude,  took  his  canoe,  and 
fetching  some  red  paint,  rubbed  it  over  the  face  of  the  musician  ;  nor  could 
the  commodore,  but  with  the  utmost  difficulty,  escape  the  like  compliment. 
When  they  had  been  divsrted  for  some  hours,  it  was  hinted  to  them  that 
they  should  go  on  shore  ;  which  they  at  length  did,  though  with  evident 
reluctance. 

They  sailed  from  this  bay  on  the  7th,  and  next  day  again  encountered 
very  bad  weather,  as  it  rained  and  snowed,  while  the  wind  blew  a  hurri- 
cane. On  the  9th  passed  some  dangerous  rocks,  which,  in  Narborough's 
Voyage  are  called  the  Judges,  and  on  which  the  surf  beats  with  prodi- 
gious violence.  This  day,  contrary  to  expectation,  a  steady  gale  at  south- 
west carried  them  at  the  rate  of  nine  miles  an  hour,  so  that  by  eight  in 


COMMODORE  BYRON.  187 

the  evening  they  were  twenty  leagues  from  the  coast  on  which  they 
had  encountered  so  many  perils.  On  the  26th  they  sailed  westward, 
bearing  away  for  the  Island  of  Masafuero,  which  they  were  within  seven 
leagues  of  the  same  evening.  The  next  day  they  bore  away  for  the 
north  of  the  island,  and  then  lay  by  for  the  boats,  which  had  been  sent 
to  sound  the  eastern  side,  but  could  not  land  for  the  violence  of  the  surf. 
The  boats  returning,  brought  a  number  of  fine  fish,  which  had  been  caught 
with  the  hook  and  line  :  and  the  officer  reporting  that  he  had  found  a 
bank  where  they  might  anchor,  and  opposite  to  which  was  plenty  of 
fresh  water,  they  made  sail  for  this  bank,  on  which  they  anchored  at 
seven  o'clock  on  Sunday  morning.  The  island  abounds  in  goats,  many 
of  which  were  killed  and  sent  on  board,  and  deemed  equal  in  flavour  to 
the  finest  venison.  One  of  the  goats  had  his  right  ear  sHt,  so  as  to  make 
it  evident  that  some  person  had  caught  him,  given  him  that  mark  of 
distinction,  and  let  him  go  again.  Various  sorts  of  excellent  fish  were 
now  so  plenty,  that  they  could  catch  sufficient  to  supply  the  whole  crew 
two  days,  in  a  few  hours,  with  hook  and  line  only. 

They  sailed  on  the  30th  of  April,  steering  variously  till  the  10th  of  May, 
on  which,  and  the  day  following,  they  saw  several  dolphins  and  bonettas 
round  the  ship.  For  many  days  alter  they  saw  great  numbers  of  birds  ; 
and  on  the  7th  of  June  discovered  land,  being  then  in  14  degrees  5 
minutes  south  latitude,  and  144  degrees  58  minutes  west  longitude. 
The  commodore  steered  for  a  small  island,  the  appearance  of  which  was 
pleasing  beyond  expression,  being  surrounded  by  a  beach  of  fine  white 
sand;  and  covered  with  lofty  trees,  which,  extending  their  shade  to  a 
considerable  distance,  and  having  no  underwood,  formed  the  most  elegant 
groves  that  the  imagination  can  conceive.  Several  of  the  natives  soon 
appeared,  having  long  spears  in  their  hands,  who  made  large  fires,  which 
were  answered  by  corresponding  fires  on  an  island  to  windward.  A 
boat  was  sent  to  look  out  for  an  anchoring  place,  but  none  was  to  be 
found.  At  this  time  many  of  the  best  hands  were  confined  to  their  ham- 
mocks with  the  scurvy  ;  while  those  who  were  able  to  keep  the  deck, 
looked  and  languished  for  those  invigorating  delicacies  which  were  un- 
happily beyond  their  reach.  The  shells  of  turtle  were  strewn  along  the 
shore,  and  they  beheld  numbers  of  cocoa  nuts,  to  the  milk  of  which  fruit 
the  scurvy  seldom  fails  to  yield.  The  inhabitants  of  this  island  kept 
abreast  of  the  ship,  dancing  and  shouting  :  they  sometimes  shook  theit 
spears,  and  then  falling  backward,  lay  motionless,  as  if  dead,  which  was 
understood  to  be  a  threat  of  destruction  to  such  as  should  presume  to 
land.  They  lilcewise  fixed  two  spears  in  the  sand,  on  the  top  of  which 
were  fastened  some  things  which  waved  in  the  air :  before  these  they 
kneeled,  and  appeared  as  if  invoking  the  assistance  of  the  Deity  against 
the  supposed  invaders.  The  commodore  was  tempted,  from  its  appea- 
rance, to  sail  round  the  island  ;  while  he  was  doing  which,  he  again  sent 
out  boats  to  sound ;  on  which  the  natives  made  a  most  hideous  outcry, 
took  up  and  balanced  large  stones  in  their  hands,  and  pointed  to  iheir 
spears.  The  sailors,  on  the  contrary,  made  every  possible  sign  of  friend-, 
ship,  throwing  bread  and  other  things  on  shore  ;  which  they  would  not 
touch,  but  retired  to  the  woods,  dragging  their  canoes  after  them. 

The  boats  having  reported  that  no  anchorage  could  be  found,  the  com- 
modore proceeded  to  the  other  island,  and  on  the  next  morning  brought- 
to  at  three-quaiters  of  a  mile  from  the  shore.  Sevcrel  other  islands  were 
now  seen,  covered  with  the  cocoa  nut  tree.  The  natives  again  ran  to 
the  beach,  armed  with  clubs  and  spears,  using  threatening  gestures.     I'he 


188  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

commodore  fired  a  cannon-shot  over  their  heads,  on  which  they  retreated 
to  the  woods.  The  boats  having  been  again  sent  out,  returned  with  an 
account  that  no  landing  place  could  be  found  ;  on  which  Mr.  Byron 
named  this  paradise  in  appearance  the  Islands  of  Disappointment. 
Quitting  these  on  the  8th  of  June,  they  discovered  an  island  on  the  day 
following,  low,  and  covered  with  various  kinds  of  trees,  among  which 
was  the  cocoa  nut,  and  surrounded  with  a  rock  of  red  coral.  The  in- 
habitants on  the  coast  having  made  large  fires,  as  supposed  to  alarm  the 
more  inland  natives,  they  ran  along  the  shore  in  multitudes,  armed  like 
those  of  the  Islands  of  Disappointment.  The  vessels  brought-to  at  a 
small  inlet  opening  into  a  lake  of  salt  water,  which  appeared  more  than 
two  leagues  wide.  At  this  place  was  a  little  town,  under  the  shade  of 
a  grove  of  cocoa  nut  trees.  The  ships  advancing  to  the  mouth  of  the 
inlet,  some  hundreds  of  the  natives,  headed  by  a  kind  of  officer,  who 
carried  a  pole,  on  which  was  fastened  a  piece  of  mat,  ranged  themselves 
up  to  the  waists  in  water,  making  a  hideous  noise,  till  they  were  joined 
by  a  number  of  large  canoes  which  came  down  the  lake.  At  this  time 
two  boats  were  out  in  search  of  soundings,  and  the  crews  of  them  ma- 
king every  possible  sign  of  friendship,  some  of  the  canoes  drew  toward 
them,  but  with  a  view  to  haul  the  boats  on  shore  :  several  of  the  natives 
leaping  from  the  rocks,  swam  to  the  boats  ;  and  one  of  them  sprang  into 
the  Tamar's  boat,  snatched  up  a  seaman's  jacket,  and  instantly  dived 
from  the  boat  to  the  shore  :  another  laid  violent  hands  on  a  hat,  but 
lost  his  prize  through  his  ignorance,  as  he  pulled  it  downward  instead  of 
lifting  it  from  the  head. 

They  now  sailed  westward,  and  soon  discovered  another  island,  distant 
four  leagues.  The  natives  pursued  them  in  two  large  double  canoes,  in 
each  of  which  were  about  thirty  armed  men.  At  this  time  the  boats 
were  at  a  considerable  way  to  leeward  of  the  ships,  and  were  chased  by 
the  canoes  ;  on  which,  the  commodore  making  a  signal,  the  boats  turned 
toward  the  Indians,  who  instantly  pulled  down  their  sails,  and  rowed 
away  with  great  rapidity. 

As  no  refreshments  could  be  obtained,  owing  to  the  violence  of  the 
surf,  the  commodore  returned  to  his  former  station  at  the  inlet,  and 
again  sent  the  boats  in  search  of  an  anchoring  place.  A  number  of  the 
Indians  were  on  the  spot  where  he  had  left  them,  and  were  loading  some 
large  canoes,  most  probably  to  attack  the  boats ;  on  which  a  shot  was 
fired  over  their  heads,  and  they  instantly  ran  away  and  secreted  them- 
selves. The  boats  returned  in  the  evening,  with  a  few  cocoa  nuts  ;  and 
in  the  morning  were  sent  out  again,  with  all  the  invalids  who  were  able 
to  go  in  them.  The  commodore  v;ent  on  shore  this  day,  and  saw  many 
Indian  huts,  which  were  covered  with  the  branches  of  the  cocoa  nut 
tree  :  they  were  mean  buildhigs,  but  finely  situated  among  groves  of 
lofty  trees.  The  men  went  naked  ;  but  some  women  were  seen,  who 
wore  a  kind  of  cloth  from  the  waist  to  the  knee.  The  shore  abounded 
with  coral,  and  the  shells  of  large  pearl  oysters,  and  it  is  probable  a  valu- 
able pearl  fishery  might  be  established  here.  There  were  uiany  dogs  in 
the  huts,  who  kept  barking  constantly  till  our  adventurers  went  on  board. 

On  the  12th  of  June  sailed  to  another  island,  and  as  they  coasted 
along  it,  the  natives,  armed  as  those  of  the  other  islands,  kept  even  with 
the  ship  for  some  leagues.  They  fretpently  plunged  into  the  sea,  or  fell 
on  the  sand,  that  the  surf  might  break  over  them,  to  cool  and  refresh 
themselves.  The  boats  being  near  the  shore,  the  crew  made  signs  that 
they  were  in  want  of  water  ;  on  which  the  natives  pointed  farther  along 


COMMODORE  BYRON.  169 

the  shore,  where,  when  the  boats  arrived,  Ihey  saw  a  number  of  houses, 
and  whither  they  were  followed  by  the  Indians,  many  more  of  whom 
joined  them  at  this  place.  The  boats  having  got  close  in  shore,  and  the 
ships  lying  at  a  small  distance,  a  venerable  old  man,  with  a  white  beard, 
advanced  from  the  house  to  the  beach,  attended  by  a  young  fellow. 
Having  made  a  signal  for  the  other  Indians  to  retire,  he  came  forward  to 
the  edge  of  the  water,  pressing  his  beard  to  his  breast  with  one  hand 
and  holding  a  branch  of  a  tree  in  the  other.  He  now  made  a  kind  of 
musical  oration,  during  which  the  people  in  the  boat  threw  him  some 
trifling  presents,  which  he  would  neither  take  up,  nor  permit  his  atten- 
dants to  touch,  till  he  had  finished  his  harangue,  when  he  walked  into 
the  water,  and  throwing  the  branch  to  the  boat's  crew,  he  retired,  and 
picked  up  their  presents.  Most  of  the  natives  having  complied  with  a 
sign  made  for  them  to  lay  down  their  arms,  one  of  the  midshipmen 
swam  ashore  ;  on  which  they  flocked  round  him,  admiring  his  clothes  ; 
as  his  waistcoat  pleased  them  most  he  gave  it  to  them,  which  he  had  no 
sooner  done,  than  one  of  them  untied  his  cravat  and  ran  away  with  it. 
He  now  thought  it  time  to  retreat  to  the  boat,  whither  several  of  the 
natives  swam  after  him  :  some  bringing  each  a  cocoa  nut,  and  others 
fresh  water  in  the  nut  shell.  This  island  is  situated  in  14  degrees  41 
minutes  south  latitude,  and  149  degrees  1.5  minutes  v/est  longitude  ;  and 
both  the  islands  the  commodore  called  King  George's  Islands. 

The  boats  having  returned  on  board,  they  sailed  westward  the  same 
day  ;  and  the  next  afternoon  descried  another  island,  toward  which  they 
immediately  sailed,  and  found  that  it  was  well  inhabited,  and  had  a  fine 
appearance  of  verdure  ;  but  that  a  violent  surf  broke  all  along  the  coast. 
It  lies  in  15  degrees  south,  and  151  degrees  63  minutes  west,  and 
received  the  name  of  the  Prince  of  Wales's  Island.  June  the  17th, 
they  concluded  that  land  was  near,  from  the  multitudes  of  birds  which 
flocked  about  the  ship  ;  but  they  saw  none  till  the  21st,  when  it  was  dis- 
covered at  eight  leagues  distance,  having  the  appearance  of  three  islands, 
with  rocks  between  them.  These  islands  abounded  with  inhabitants, 
whose  dweUings  lined  the  coast ;  and  the  beauty  and  fertiUty  of  the 
soil  seemed  to  excel  that  of  any  place  they  had  seen  :  but  the  rocks  and 
breakers  with  which  it  was  surrounded  were  an  insuperable  bar  to  any 
attempt  at  landing. 

On  the  24th  they  discovered  another  island,  which  was  named  the 
Duke  of  York's  Island.  A  terrible  sea  breaks  round  the  coast,  but  the 
place  itself  had  a  pleasing  appearance.  The  boats  landed  with  some 
difticulty,  and  brought  off  a  large  quantity  of  cocoa  nuts,  which  were  a 
great  relief  to  the  sick.  Thousands  of  sea-fowls  were  found  sitting  on 
their  nests  in  high  trees,  and  were  so  tame  as  to  be  easily  knocked  down  ; 
and  there  were  great  numbers  of  land-crabs  on  the  ground.  This  island 
has  a  large  lake  in  the  middle,  but  no  inhabitants.  On  the  29th  sailed 
northward,  with  a  view  to  cross  the  equinoctial  line,  and  then  sail  for  the 
Ladrone  islands.  On  the  2d  of  July  they  discovered  a  low  flat  island, 
abounding  with  the  cocoa  nut  and  other  trees,  and  aflfording  a  most  agreea- 
ble prospect.  A  great  number  of  the  natives  were  seen  on  the  beach, 
many  of  whom,  in  about  sixty  canoes  or  proas,  sailed,  and  formed  a 
circle  round  the  ship  ;  which  having  surveyed  for  a  considerable  time,  one 
of  the  Indians  jumped  out  of  his  boat,  swam  to  the  ship,  ran  up  its  side  in 
a  moment,  sat  down  on  the  deck,  and  began  laughing  most  violently  ;  he 
then  ran  about  the  ship,  pilfering  whatever  he  could  lay  hands  on,  which 
I'Hw  taken  from  hira  as  fast  aa  stolen.     This  man  having  as  many  antic 


190  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

tricks  as  a  monkey,  was  dressed  in  a  jacket  and  trousers,  and  afforded 
exquisite  diversion.  He  devoured  some  biscuit  with  great  eagerness,  and 
having  played  the  buffoon  some  time,  made  prize  of  his  new  dress,  by 
jumping  over  the  side  of  the  ship,  and  swimming  to  his  companions. 
Several  others  now  swam  to  the  ship,  and  running  by  the  side  to  the  <Tun- 
Toom  ports,  committed  some  petty  theft,  swimming  off  with  their  booty 
with  surprising  expedi-tion.  These  Indians  are  of  a  bright  copper,  with 
regular  and  cheerful  features,  and  are  tall  and  well  made.  Their  hair, 
which  is  long  and  black,  is  either  tied  in  three  knots,  or  in  a  large  bunch 
behind.  Their  ears  are  bored,  and  doubtless  had  worn  heavy  orna- 
ments in  them,  as  some  were  drawn  down  almost  to  their  shoulders ; 
their  ornaments  were  shells  strung  together,  and  worn  round  the  waist, 
wrist,  and  neck ;  but  they  were  otherwise  naked.  One  of  them,  who 
seemed  to  be  of  some. rank,  wore  a  string  of  human  teeth  round  his  waist. 
Some  carried  a  long  spear,  the  sides  of  which,  for  the  length  of  three 
feet,  were  stuck  with  the  teeth  of  the  shark,  which  are  as  keen  as  a 
razor.  Some  cocoa  nuts  being  shown  them,  and  signs  made  that  more 
were  wanted,  they  endeavoured  to  steal  those,  instead  of  directing  where 
more  might  be  found. 

The  officers  named  this  place  Byron's  Island,  in  honour  of  the  com- 
modore. It  lies  in  1  degree  18  minutes  south  latitude,  and  173  degrees 
46  minutes  east  longitude.  They  sailed  from  hence  on  the  3d  of  July, 
and  on  the  28th  had  sight  of  the  Islands  Saypan,  Tinian,  and  Aiguigan, 
which  lie  between  two  and  three  leagues  from  each  other.  At  noon,  on 
the  31st,  anchored  at  the  south-west  end  of  Tinian,  in  the  situation 
where  the  Centurion  had  anchored  with  Commodore  Anson.  The  water 
is  so  wonderfully  clear  at  this  place  that,  though  144  feet  deep,  they 
could  see  the  ground. 

The  commodore  went  on  shore,  where  he  saw  many  huts,  which  had 
been  left  the  preceding  year  by  the  Spaniards  and  Indians.  Having 
chosen  a  spot  on  which  to  erect  tents  for  the  sick,  Mr.  Byron  and  his 
company,  with  prodigious  difficulty,  worked  their  way  through  the  woods, 
in  search  of  those  elegant  meadows  and  lawns  of  which  so  enchanting  a 
picture  is  given  in  Anson's  Voyage  :  but,  to  their  unspeakable  mortifica- 
tion, they  found  the  lawns  covered  with  reeds,  in  which  their  legs  were 
entangled,  and  cut  as  with  whipcord  ;  and  these  reeds  were,  in  some 
places,  higher  than  their  heads,  and  in  none  less  than  half  that  height. 
From  head  to  foot  they  were  covered  with  flies,  which  got  down  their 
throats  as  often  as  they  attempted  to  speak. 

Parties  were  sent  out  to  kill  cattle,  which,  after  being  absent  three 
days  and  nights,  and  killing  a  bullock,  had  seven  or  eight  miles  to  drag  it 
through  the  woods  and  lawns,  and  when  arrived,  it  was  commonly  fly- 
blown, and  stunk  intolerably.  They  got  poultry  with  ease  ;  but  the  heat 
was  so  excessive,  that  it  would  turn  green,  and  swarm  with  maggots, 
in  less  than  an  hour  after  it  was  killed.  They  killed  wild  hogs  that 
weighed  300  pounds  each,  which  afforded  their  chief  supply  of  fresh  meat. 
A  negro  belonging  to  the  Tamar  contrived  a  method  to  ensnare 
these  animals,  so  that  they  sent  many  on  board  alive,  and  were  thus 
always  certain  of  having  fresh  meat  both  in  the  ship  and  on  shore. 

The  Island  of  Saypan  is  not  only  larger,  but  pleasanter  than  Tinian. 
It  is,  in  a  great  degree,  covered  with  trees,  and  abounds  with  hogs  and 
guanicoes.  It  is  conjectured  that  the  Spaniards,  at  stated  periods,  carry  on 
a  pearl  fishery  at  this  island,  as  there  were  evident  signs  of  people  ha- 
ving been  lately  there,  and  large  heaps  of  the  oyster  shells  were  seen.  The 


SAMUEL  WALLIS.  191 

commodore  remained  at  Tinian  till  the  30th  of  September,  by  which  time 
the  sick  being  tolerable  well  recovered,  he  weighed  anchor,  and  stood  to 
the  northward.  This  island  produces  plenty  of  cotton  and  indigo,  with 
cocoa  nuts,  bread  fruit,  guavas,  paupaus,  sour  oranges,  and  limes.  On 
the  5th  of  November  they  came  to  an  anchor  off  the  Island  of  Timoan,  on 
which  Mr.  Byron  landed  the  day  following.  The  inhabitants,  who  are 
Malays,  no  sooner  saw  the  boat  approaching  the  shore,  than  many  of 
them  came  to  the  beach,  each  having  a  dagger  by  his  side,  a  spear  in  one 
hand,  and  along  knife  in  the  other.  The  boat's  crew,  however,  made  no 
hesitation  to  land,  and  bartered  a  few  handkerchiefs  for  a  goat,  a  kid,  and 
a  dozen  of  fowls. 

Nothing  worth  notice  happened  till  the  14th,  when  a  sloop  being  seen 
at  anchor  in  the  harbour  of  an  island,  named  Pulo  Toupoa,  Mr.  Byron, 
having  anchored  in  the  same  harbour,  and  observed  that  the  vessel  hoist- 
ed Dutch  colours,  sent  an  officer  on  board,  who  was  received  with  great 
politeness,  tea  being  immediately  made  for  him  and  his  attendants  ;  but 
he  could  not  make  himself  understood,  the  crew  consisting  entirely  of 
Malays.  The  commodore  sailed  the  following  day,  and  held  his  course 
till  the  19th,  when  he  spoke  with  an  English  snow,  bound  from  Bencoolen 
to  Malacca  and  Bengal,  in  the  East  India  Company's  service.  At  this 
time  their  biscuit  was  filled  with  worms,  and  rotten,  and  their  beef  and 
pork  was  stinking.  The  master  of  the  snow  being  apprized  of  this  cir- 
cumstance, sent  Mr.  Byron  two  gallons  of  arrack,  a  turtle,  twelve  fowls, 
and  a  sheep.  The  ships  remained  in  this  harbour  till  the  10th  of  Decem- 
ber, when  they  sailed.  During  their  run  from  hence  to  Prince's  Island, 
in  the  Strait  of  Sunda,  they  were  so  abundantly  supplied  with  turtle, 
by  boats  from  the  Java  shore,  that  the  common  sailors  subsisted  wholly 
on  that  fish.  They  staid  at  Prince's  Island  till  the  19th,  when  they  sailed 
for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  On  the  10th  of  February  saw  a  great 
smoke  arising  from  a  sandy  beach,  which  they  supposed  to  have 
been  made  by  the  Hottentots.  On  the  13th  they  came  to  an  anchor, 
and  the  next  morning  the  governor  sent  his  coach  and  six  for  the 
commodore,  and  received  him  with  great  politeness,  offering  him  the 
accommodations  of  the  co.mpany's  house  in  the  garden,  and  the  use 
of  his  coach. 

They  sailed  on  the  7th  of  March,  and  on  the  35th  crossed  the  equi- 
noctial line.  About  this  time  an  accident  happening  to  the  rudder  of  the 
Tamar,  and  it  being  impossible  to  make  a  perfect  repair  of  it  at  sea,  the 
captain  was  ordered  to  bear  away  for  Antigua  ;  in  consequence  of  which 
they  parted  company  on  the  Ist  of  April ;  and  the  Dolphin,  without 
meeting  with  any  other  material  occurrence,  came  to  an  anchor  in  the 
Downs  on  ttie  9th  of  May,  1766,  after  having  been  rather  above  twenty- 
two  months  in  the  circumnavigation  of  the  globe. 


CAPTAIN  SAMUEL  WALLIS.— 1766-68. 

Samuel  Wallis,  Esq. ,  having  been  appointed  to  command  his  majesty's 
ship  the  Dolphin,  destined  for  a  voyage  round  the  world,  received  orders 
to  take  under  his  command  the  Swallow  sloop,  and  Prince  Frederick 
store-ship.  These  vessels  sailed  on  the  22d  of  August.  1766,  and,  on 
the  7th  of  September,  in  the  evening,  came  to  an  anchor  in  the  road  of 
Madeira. 

Tbey  sailed  thence  on  the  12th,  after  having  taken  in  sea-stores      By 


192  OYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

the  12th  of  November  they  were  in  30  degrees  of  south  latitude,  when 
they  found  the  weather  so  cold  as  to  have  recourse  to  their  thick  jackets. 
On  the  16th  of  December,  being  very  near  Cape  Virgin  Mary,  they  saw 
several  men  riding  on  the  shore,  who  made  signs  for  them  to  land.  In 
the  morning  the  captain  went  on  shore,  with  a  boat's  crew  from  each  ship, 
and  having  made  signs  for  the  Indians  to  sit  down,  gave  them  combs, 
buttons,  knives,  scissors,  beads,  &c.,  and  pleased  the  women  greatly  by 
the  distribution  of  some  ribands.  The  tallest  among  these  people  was 
six  feet  seven  inches,  several  others  were  from  one  to  two  inches  shorter  ; 
but  the  general  height  was  from  five  feet  ten  to  six  feet.  They  were 
muscular  and  well  made,  but  their  hands  and  feet  very  small  in  propor- 
tion to  the  rest  of  their  bodies.  They  rode  on  horses  about  fourteen 
hands  high,  and  had  dogs  of  the  Spanish  kind  ;  both  men  and  women  rode 
astride,  and  the  men  were  furnished  with  wooden  spurs  :  some  of  the  men 
had  their  arms  painted,  the  faces  of  others  were  variously  marked,  and 
others  again  had  their  left  eye  enclosed  by  a  painted  circle.  Their  arms 
were  two  round  stones,  enclosed  with  leather,  one  of  which  was  fastened 
at  each  end  of  a  string  eight  feet  in  length  ;  and  one  stone  being  held 
in  the  hand,  the  other  was  swung  round  the  head  with  great  force  for 
some  time,  and  then  discharged  at  any  mark  they  chose  to  strike. 

These  people,  who  are  great  talkers,  were  often  heard  to  say  Ca-pi-ta- 
nc,  on  which  they  were  successively  addressed  in  Portuguese,  Spanish, 
Dutch,  and  French  :  but  they  had  no  knowledge  of  either  of  those  lan- 
guages. When  they  shook  hands  with  any  of  the  crew,  they  always 
said  chcvow  ;  and  they  were  amazingly  ready  in  learning  English  words, 
and  pronounced  the  sentence  •'  Englishmen,  come  on  shore  "  with  great 
facility. 

As  they  seemed  desirous  of  going  on  board,  the  captain  took  eight  into 
the  boats,  on  which  they  instantly  began  singing  for  joy  ;  but,  when  they 
came  into  the  ship,  expressed  no  kind  of  surprise  at  the  novelties  they 
beheld,  till  a  looking-glass  being  observed,  they  acted  many  antic  gestures 
before  it,  occasionally  walking  to  and  from  it,  talking  with  earnestness  and 
laughing  immoderately.  They  would  drink  nothing  but  water,  but  they 
eagerly  ate  every  article  of  the  ship's  provisions.  They  were  highly 
pleased  with  some  turkeys  and  guinea-hens  which  were  onboard,  nor  did 
the  hogs  and  sheep  escape  their  attention.  One  of  them  making  signs  that 
he  should  be  glad  of  some  clothes,  the  captain  gave  him  a  pair  of  shoes 
and  buckles,  and  presented  the  rest  with  a  little  bag  each,  in  which  he  put 
new  sixpences  and  half-pence,  with  a  riband  passed  through  a  hole  in 
them,  to  hang  round  their  necks  :  the  remaining  contents  of  the  bag 
were,  a  looking-glass,  a  comb,  some  beads,  a  knife,  a  pair  of  scissors, 
some  twine,  and  a  few  slips  of  cloth  ;  being  offered  some  tobacco,  they 
smoked  a  few  minutes,  but  did  not  seem  to  like  it.  The  marines  being 
exercised  before  them,  they  were  terrified  at  the  firing  of  the  muskets,  and 
one  of  them  falling  down,  shut  his  eyes,  and  lay  without  motion,  as  if  to 
intimate  that  he  knew  the  destructive  nature  of  those  weapons. 

This  day,  the  21st,  they  turned  into  the  Strait  of  Magellan  with  the 
flood-tide,  and  saw  many  people  on  horseback,  hunting  the  guanicoes, 
which  ran  up  the  country  with  prodigious  swiftness.  On  the  26th  an- 
chored in  Port  Famine  Bay,  and  the  sick  were  sent  on  shore,  where  a 
tent  was  erected  for  their  reception,  as  was  another  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  sail-makers  aAd  those  who  landed  to  get  wood.  On  the  28th  the 
empty  water-casks  were  landed  ;  and  on  this  day  great  quantities  of  fish 
were  caught,  among  which  were  smelts.     When  they  arrived  here,  many 


SAMUEL  WALLIS.       TOT  193 

of  the  people  were  very  bad  with  the  scurvy  ;  but  by  the  plentiful  use  of 
vegetables,  and  bathing  in  the  sea,  they  all  recovered  in  a  very  short  time. 
They  sailed  on  the  18th,  and  came  to  an  anchor  tiie  next  day,  half  a  mile 
from  the  shore,  opposite  a  current  of  fresh  water  that  falls  rapidly  from 
the  mountains.  On  the  evening  of  the  28th  saw  a  great  smoke  on  the 
southern  shore,  and  another  on  Prince  Rupert's  Island ;  and  the  next 
morning  some  people  being  sent  on  shore  for  water,  had  no  sooner  land- 
ed than  several  of  the  natives  came  off  in  three  canoes  ;  and,  having 
advanced  toward  the  sailors,  made  signs  of  friendship,  vvhich  being  an- 
swered to  their  wish,  they  shouted  aloud,  and  the  English  shouted  in 
return. 

The  ships  sailed  on  the  3d  of  February,  and  came  to  an  anchor  in 
York  Road  on  the  same  day.  The  next  morning  Captain  Wallis,  with 
a  party,  went  on  shore  near  Bachelor's  River.  There  is  a  cataract  near 
this  river,  the  noise  of  which  is  tremendous,  as  it  falls  more  than  40G 
yards,  partly  over  a  very  steep  descent,  and  partly  in  a  perpendicular  line. 
They  sailed  on  the  14th,  and  came  to  anchor  again  the  same  day  in  York 
Road,  after  having  lost  ground  by  the  contrary  winds.  On  the  1st  of 
March  sailed  again,  and  anchored  on  the  same  day  in  a  bay  which  they 
called  Lion's  Cove,  from  whence  they  sailed  on  Monday  ;  and  on  the  five 
following  days  encountered  such  terrible  weather  that  they  had  no  pros- 
pect before  them  but  that  of  immediate  destruction.  On  the  16th  both 
ships  were  safely  anchored  in  a  place  called  Swallow  Harbour,  whence 
they  sailed  the  next  morning ;  and  on  the  following  day  the  Swallow, 
being  driven  among  breakers,  made  signals  of  distress  ;  but  was  happily 
relieved  by  a  breeze  from  the  shore. 

On  the  10th  of  April  the  two  ships  sailed  in  company ;  and  on  the  11th 
lost  sight  of  each  other,  and  did  not  meet  again  during  the  whole  voyage. 
This  day  the  Dolphin  cleared  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  in  which  she  had 
laboured  with  innumerable  difficulties,  and  escaped  most  imminent  dan- 
gers, in  a  passage  of  almost  four  months,  viz.,  from  December  the  17th, 
1766,  to  the  llth  of  April  following.  In  the  year  1581  the  Spaniards 
it  seems  built  a  town  here,  which  they  named  Phillipville,  and  left  in  it 
a  colony  of  400  persons.  These  were  all  starved  to  death  except  twenty- 
four,  all  of  whom  but  one  proceeded  in  search  of  the  River  Plata,  and 
most  probably  perished,  as  no  tidings  were  ever  heard  of  them ;  the 
remaining  man,  whose  name  was  Hernando,  was  taken  on  board  by  Sir 
William  Cavendish,  in  the  year  1587,  and  brought  to  England  ;  and  the 
place  was  called  Port  Famine,  from  the  melancholy  fate  of  these  unfor- 
tunate men.  Wood  and  water  abound  at  this  place  ;  geese,  ducks,  teal, 
&c.,  are  in  great  abundance,  and  there  is  no  want  of  fish  ;  so  that  the 
face  of  things  must  be  greatly  changed  since  the  Spaniards  were  there. 

On  the  Ist  of  June  they  saw  several  men-of-war  birds,  and  the  next 
day  observed  some  gannets  ;  and  the  weather  being  at  this  time  very 
various,  they  conceived  hopes  that  they  drew  near  the  land.  On  the  4th 
a  turtle  swam  close  by  the  ship  ;  and  the  next  day  a  great  variety  of  birds 
were  seen.  The  long  wished-for  relief  was  now  fast  approaching  ;  for 
on  Saturday,  the  6th,  the  man  at  the  mast-head  cried,  "Land  in  the 
west-north-west,"  This  proved  to  be  a  low  island,  distant  five  or  six 
leagues,  and  was  soon  seen  from  the  deck,  to  the  great  joy  of  every  one 
on  board.  When  they  came  within  five  miles,  they  discovered  another 
»o  the  west-north-west.  As  no  anchorage  was  to  be  found,  and  the  whole 
Island  was  encompassed  with  rocks  and  breakers,  the  captain  resolved  to 

17 


194  YOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

steer  for  the  other  island,  giving  the  name  of  Whitsun  Island  to  this, 
because  it  was  discovered  on  the  eve  of  Whitsunday. 

Having  approached  the  second,  about  fifcy  of  the  natives,  armed  with 
pikes,  and  some  having  fire-brands  in  their  hands,  were  observed  running 
on  the  coast.  Two  boats  were  sent  out,  manned  and  armed,  and  the 
lieutenant  was  instructed  to  steer  for  that  part  of  the  shore  where  the 
people  had  been  seen,  to  avoid  offending  them,  and  to  try  to  procure 
water  and  fruit,  in  exchange  for  such  commodities  as  he  took.  When= 
the  boat  came  near  the  shore,  the  natives  put  themselves  in  a  position  a» 
if  they  would  defend  it  with  their  pikes  ;  but  the  crew  making  signs  of 
friendship,  and  exposing  their  trinkets,  some  of  the  Indians  walked  into  the 
water  ;  to  whom  it  was  hinted,  that  some  coccki  nuts  and  water  would  be 
acceptable  ;  which  was  no  sooner  done  than  they  fetched  a  small  quantity 
of  each,  which  they  rentured  to  bring  to  the  boats,  and  received  some 
nails  and  other  trifles  in  exchange.  While  they  were  dealing,  one  of 
them  stole  a  siUc  handkerchief  with  its  contents,  but  the  thief  could  not 
be  discovered.  The  lieutenant  was  again  sent  on  shore  to  take  posses- 
sion of  the  island  in  the  king's  name,  and  to  call  it  Queen  Charlotte's 
Island.  The  boats  returned  loaded  with  cocoa  nuts  and  scurvy-grass, 
after  having  found  two  wells  of  excellent  water.  Provisions  for  a 
week  were  now  allotted  for  an  officer  and  twenty  men,  who  were  "left 
on  shore  to  fill  water  ;  the  sick  were  landed  for  the  benefit  of  the  air ; 
and  a  rmmber  of  hands  were  appointed  to  climb  the  cocoa  trees,  and  gather 
the  nuts.  On  an  adjoining  island  they  found  the  people  wlio  had  fled 
from  Queen  Charlotte's  Island,  with  several  others,  in  the  whole  near  100. 
It  lies  in  IS  degrees  20  minutes  south  latitude,  and  138  degrees  30  minutes 
west  longitude,  and  received  the  name  of  Egmont  Island. 

On  the  llth  they  observed  about  sixteen  persons  on  an  island,  which 
was  called  Gloucester  Island ;  but,  being  surrounded  with  rocks  anfl 
breakers,  they  did  not  attempt  to  land.  This  day  they  likewise  discovered 
another,  which  was  called  Cumberland  Island  ;  and  on  the  day  following 
a  third,  which  received  the  name  of  Prince  Wilham  Henry's  Island. 

On  the  17th  again  discovered  land,  and  at  ten  at  night  saw  a  light, 
which  convinced  them  it  was  inhabited  ;  and  remarked,  that  there  was 
plenty  of  cocoa  trees,  a  certain  indication  of  no  want  of  water.  The  day 
following  an  officer  was  sent  to  the  shore,  with  instructions  to  exchange 
some  toys  for  such  things  as  the  island  produced.  He  saw  a  great  num- 
ber of  the  people,  but  could  find  noplace  in  which  the  ship  might  anchor. 
From  the  number  of  people  seen,  and  their  having  some  large  double 
canoes  on  the  shore,  it  was  thought  there  were  larger  islands  at  no  great 
distance  :  the  captain,  therefore,  having  named  this  place  Osnaburgh 
Island,  made  sail,  and  having  soon  discovered  high  land,  carae  to  an 
anchor,  because  the  weather  was  foggy. 

Early  the  next  morning  they  saw  land,  distant  four  or  five  leagues  ;  hut, 
after  having  sailed  toward  it  some  time,  thought  proper  again  to  anchor, 
on  account  of  the  thickness  of  the  fog  ;  but  it  was  no  sooner  cleared 
away  than  they  found  the  ship  encompassed  by  hundreds  of  canoes,  in 
which  were  many  hundreds  of  people.  Some  baubles  were  shown  them, 
and  signs  made  to  come  on  board,  on  which  they  rowed  the  canoes  toward 
each  other,  and  a  general  consultation  took  place  ;  at  the  conclusion  of 
which  they  all  surrounded  the  ship  with  an  appearance  of  friendship,  anJ 
one  of  them  delivered  an  oration,  at  the  conclusion  of  which  he  threw  into 
the  sea  the  branch  of  a  plantain  tree,  which  he  held  in  his  hand.  Thi« 
being  done,  a  young  Indian,  of  more  apparent  courage  than  the  rest,  ven- 


SAMUEL  WALLIS.  195 

tnred  on  board  the  ship.  The  captain  would  have  given  him  some  bau- 
bles, but  he  refused  the  acceptance  of  them  till  those  in  the  canoes  came 
alongside,  and,  having  held  a  consultation,  threw  on  board  several  branches 
of  the  plantain  tree. 

They  sailed  along  the  shore,  while  the  canoes  made  toward  the  land. 
In  the  afternoon  the  ship  brought  to,  and  the  boats  being  sent  to  sound  a 
bav  that  promised  good  anchorage,  the  canoes  flocked  round  them.  Next 
morning  they  were  off  a  peak  of  land,  which  was  almost  covered  with  the 
lalives  and  their  houses.  On  the  21st  the  ship  came  to  an  anchor,  and 
'•everal  canoes  came  alongside,  bringing  a  large  quantity  of  fruit,  with 
"owls  and  hogs,  for  which  they  received  nails  and  toys  in  exchange. 
The  boats,  having  been  sent  to  sound  along  the  coast,  were  followed  by 
large  double  canoes,  three  of  which  ran  at  the  cutter,  staved  in  her  quarter, 
and  otherwise  damaged  her  ;  the  Indians,  at  the  same  time,  armed  with 
clubs,  endeavouring  to  board  her.  The  crew  now  fired  ;  and  wounding 
one  man  dangerously,  and  killing  another,  they  both  fell  into  the  sea, 
whither  their  companions  dived  after  them,  and  got  them  into  the  canoe. 
They  now  tried  if  they  could  stand  or  sit ;  but  as  the  one  was  quite  dead, 
they  laid  him  at  the  bottoin  of  the  canoe,  and  the  wounded  man  was  sup- 
ported in  a  sitting  posture. 

The  ship  made  sail  the  day  following,  with  intention  to  anchor  oflf  the 
watering  place  ;  but  the  man  at  the  mast-head  discovering  a  hay  a  few 
miles  to  leeward,  they  immediately  stood  for  it ;  when  the  ship  had 
almost  reached  the  boats  she  suddenly  struck,  and  her  head  remained 
immoveal)ly  fixed  on  a  coral  rock  near  an  hour,  when  she  was  happily 
relieved  by  a  breeze  from  the  shore.  During  the  whole  time  of  being  in 
danger,  she  was  encompassed  by  hundreds  of  Indians  in  their  canoes  ; 
but  not  one  attempted  to  board  her.  The  ship  was  now  piloted  round  a 
reef  into  a  harbour,  where  she  moored. 

On  the  34th  she  sailed  farther  up  the  harbour,  followed  by  many 
canoes,  bringing  provisions,  which  were  exchanged  for  nails,  knives,  &c. 
In  the  evening  a  number  of  large  canoes  advanced,  laden  with  stones, 
on  which  the  captain  ordered  the  strictest  watch  to  be  kept.  At  length 
souie  canoes  came  off,  with  a  number'  of  woman  on  board,  who,  being 
brought  almost  under  the  ship,  began  to  practice  many  arts  of  indelicacy. 
During  this  exhibition,  the  large  canoes  came  close  round  the  ship  ;  some 
of  the  Indians  playing  on  a  kind  of  flute,  others  singing,  and  the  rest 
blowing  a  sort  of  shells.  Soon  after  a  large  canoe  advanced,  in  v/hich 
was  an  awning,  on  the  top  of  which  sat  one  of  the  natives,  holding  some 
yellow  and  red  feathers  in  his  hand.  The  captain  having  consented  to 
his  coming  alongside,  he  delivered  the  feathers  ;  and  while  a  present 
was  preparing,  he  put  back  from  the  ship,  and  threw  the  branch  of  a 
cocoa  tree  in  the  air.  This  appeared  the  signal  for  an  onset  ;  for  there 
was  an  instant  shout  from  all  the  canoes,  which,  approaching  the  ship, 
threw  volleys  of  stones  into  every  part  of  her.  On  this  two  guns,  loaded 
with  small  shot,  were  fired,  and  the  people  on  guard  discharged  their 
muskets.  The  nutr.ber  of  Indians  now  round  the  ship  was  full  two 
thousand  ;  and  though  tiiey  were  at  first  disconcerted,  soon  recovered 
their  spirits  and  renewed  the  attack.  Thousands  were  observed  on 
shore,  embarking  as  fast  as  the  canoes  could  bring  them  off :  orders  were, 
therefore,  given  for  filing  the  cannon,  some  of  which  were  brought  to 
bear  upon  tiie  shore.  This  put  a  stop  to  all  hostilities  on  the  part  of  the 
natives  for  a  short  time,  but  the  scattered  canoes  soon  got  together  again, 
and,  having  hoisted  white  streamers,  advanced,  and  threw  stones  of  two 


196  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

pounds  weight  from  slings,  by  which  a  number  of  the  seamen  were 
wounded  At  this  time  several  canoes  approached  the  bow  of  the  ship, 
from  whence  no  shot  had  been  yet  discharged.  In  one  of  these  was  an 
Indian,  who  appeared  to  have  an  authority  over  the  rest :  a  gun  was  there- 
fore levelled  at  his  canoe,  the  shot  of  which  spHt  it  in  two  pieces,  which 
put  an  end  to  the  contest ;  the  canoes  rowed  off  with  the  utmost  speed, 
and  the  people  on  shore  ran  and  concealed  themselves  behind  the  hills. 

Next  day  a  lieutenant  was  despatched  with  all  the  boats  manned  and 
armed,  and  a  number  of  marines,  wiih  orders  to  land  under  cover  of  the 
ship  and  boats  ;  which  being  effected,  he  turned  a  piece  of  turf,  and 
having  hoisted  a  pendant  on  a  staff,  took  possession  of  the  place,  for  his 
sovereign,  by  the  n  \me  of  King  George  the  Third's  Island.  At  this  time 
the  lieutenant  observed  two  old  men  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river, 
wlio  seemed  much  terrified,  and  assumed  a  posture  of  supplication. 
Signs  were  made  for  them  to  cross  the  river,  which  one  of  them  havinu- 
done,  he  crawled  on  his  hands  and  knees  toward  the  lieutenant ;  who, 
showing  him  some  stones  that  had  been  throw  at  the  ship,  hinted  that 
the  Indians  should  receive  no  harm  if  they  were  not  the  aggressors. 

Next  day,  while  a  party  was  engaged  in  filling  the  water  casks,  the 
old  man  who  had  been  seen  the  day  before  crossed  the  river,  and  brought 
with  him  some  fowls  and  fruit.  The  captain,  who  was  indisposed  on 
board  the  ship,  employed  himself  in  remarking  what  was  going  forward 
on  shore  :  and,  by  the  help  of  glasses,  saw  many  of  the  Indians  creep- 
ing behind  the  bushes  toward  the  watering  place,  while  incredible  num- 
bers were  coming  through  the  woods,  and  a  large  party  descending  a  hill, 
all  advancing  to  the  same  spot ;  and  two  divisions  of  canoes  were  making 
round  the  opposite  points  of  the  bay.  The  lieutenant  got  his  party  on 
board  the  boats,  but  not  before  he  had  sent  the  old  Indian  to  prevail  on 
the  others  to  keep  at  a  proper  distance,  as  he  wanted  only  water — but 
this  had  no  effect  ;  and,  as  soon  as  the  crews  were  in  the  boats,  the 
natives  possessed  themselves  of  the  casks  as  lawful  prize.  Those  at 
some  distance  from  the  watering  place  pushed  forward  with  all  speed, 
keeping  pace  with  the.  canoes,  which  were  rowed  at  an  extraordinary 
rate  ;  while  a  great  number  of  women  and  children  were  seated  on  a 
hill,  from  whence  they  could  command  a  view  of  all  that  passed. 

When  the  canoes  came  near  that  part  of  the  bay  where  the  ship  rode, 
they  took  in  many  people  from  the  shore,  who  were  laden  with  bags 
filled  with  stones.  All  the  canoes  now  approached  the  ship,  on  which 
the  captain  gave  orders  to  fire  on  the  first  cluster  that  should  assem- 
ble ;  this  had  such  an  effect,  that  they  all  rowed  off  with  the  utmost 
speed.  They  then  fired  into  several  parts  of  the  wood,  on  which  the 
Indians  all  fled  to  the  hill  where  the  women  and  children  were,  so  that 
several  thousands  were  now  on  that  spot  The  captain  being  resolved 
to  make  this  action  decisive,  fired  toward  the  hill  ;  and  two  balls  falling 
near  a  spot  where  many  of  these  people  had  stationed  themselves,  they 
were  all  terrified  beyond  description,  and  dis:^ppeared  in  an  instant. 

On  the  27th,  while  a  party  was  getting  water,  the  old  man  before  • 
mentioned  appeared  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  ;  and  having 
harangued  them  some  time,  he  came  over  ;  when  the  officer,  pointing 
to  the  bags  and  stones  which  had  been  brought  down,  tried  to  convince 
him  that  his  countrymen  had  injured  the  English,  who  had  acted  only  on 
the  defensive.  He  departed  with  signs  of  being  content,  and  in  a  few 
hours  the  natives  began  a  traffic,  which  proved  highly  advantageous  to 
the  ship's  company 


SAMUEL  WALLIS.  197 

The  old  Indian,  who  had  visited  the  interior  parts  of  the  island  in 
quest  of  provisions,  returned  on  the  5th,  and  brought  with  him  a  roasted 
hog  as  a  present  for  the  captain,  who,  in  return,  enriched  him  by  pulling 
him  in  possession  of  a  looking-glass,  an  iron  pot,  &c.  Three  days  after 
this,  the  gunner  conducted  to  the  ship  a  lady  of  a  portly  figure  and  agree- 
able face,  whose  age  seemed  to  be  upward  of  forty.  She  had  but  lately 
arrived  in  that  part  of  the  island  ;  and  the  gunner,  observing  that  she 
seemed  to  have  great  authority,  presented  her  with  some  toys,  on  which 
she  invited  him  to  her  house,  and  gave  him  some  fine  hogs.  She  was 
afterward  taken  on  board  at  her  own  desire,  where  her  whole  behaviour 
indicated  the  woman  of  superior  rank.  The  captain  presented  her  with 
a  looking-glass  and  some  toys,  and  gave  her  a  handsome  blue  mantle, 
which  he  lied  round  her  with  ribands. 

Having  intimated  that  she  should  be  glad  to  see  the  captain  on 
shore,  he  signified  his  intention  of  visiting  her  on  the  following  day. 
Accordinglyron  Sunday,  the  12lh,  he  went  on  shore,  where  he  was  met 
by  his  fair  friend,  who  was  attended  by  a  numerous  retinue,  some  of 
whom  she  directed  to  carry  the  captain,  and  others  who  had  been  ill,  over 
the  river,  and  thence  to  her  habitation  :  the  procession  was  closed  by  a 
guard  of  marines  and  seamen.  As  they  advanced,  great  numbers  of 
Indians  crowded  to  see  them  ;  but,  on  a  slight  motion  of  her  hand,  made 
ample  room  for  the  procession  to  pass.  Many  persons  of  both  sexes 
advanced  to  meet  her,  whom  she  caused  to  kiss  the  captain's  hand,  while 
she  signified  that  ihey  were  related  to  her.  Her  house  was  above  three 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  length,  and  about  forty  in  breadth.  The  roof, 
which  was  covered  with  the  leaves  of  the  palm  tree,  was  supported  by  a 
row  of  pillars  on  each  side,  and  another  in  the  middle.  The  highest  part 
of  the  thatch  on  the  inside  was  about  thirty  feet  from  the  ground,  and  the 
space  between  the  sides  of  the  building  and  the  edge  of  the  roof  being 
twelve  feet,  was  left  entirely  open. 

The  captain,  lieutenant,  and  purser,  who  had  been  ill,  being  seated, 
the  lady  helped  four  of  her  female  attendants  to  pull  off  their  coats,  shoes, 
and  stockings  ;  which  being  awkwardly  performed,  the  girls  smoothed 
down  the  skin,  and  rubbed  it  lightly  with  their  hands  for  more  than  half 
an  hour  ;  and  the  gentlemen  received  great  benefit  from  the  operation. 
The  surgeon,  being  heated  with  walking,  having  pulled  off  his  wig,  one 
of  the  Indians  screamed  out  ;  the  eyes  of  the  whole  company  were 
instantly  fixed  on  the  miraculous  sight,  remaining  some  time  in  the  most 
profound  astonishment.  When  they  had  recovered  from  their  surprise, 
the  lady  ordered  several  bales  of  cloth,  the  produce  of  the  island,  to  be 
brought  out,  in  which  she  dressed  the  captain  and  all  his  attendants. 
Orders  had  been  given,  that  the  captain  should  be  carried  as  before  ;  but 
as  he  chose  to  walk,  she  took  hold  of  his  arm,  and  when  they  came  near 
any  wet  or  dirty  places,  she  lifted  him  over,  with  as  much  ease  as  a  man 
would  a  child.  She  attended  them  to  the  shore,  when  she  too^  her 
leave,  having  presented  the  captain  with  a  fine  sow,  big  with  young,. 

On  the  15th  a  large  party,  in  all  the  boats,  rowed  round  part  of'  the 
island,  in  order  to  take  a  view  of  it,  and  purchase  provisions.  They 
returned  with  a  number  of  hogs  and  fowk,  and  some  plantains  and  cocoa 
nuts.  The  island  was  found  to  be  everywhere  very  pleasant,  and  to 
abound  with  various  necessaries  of  life.  On  the  17th  Captain  Wallis 
received  another  visit  from  the  lady,  whom  he  called  his  queen.  She 
repeated  her  visit  on  the  following  day,  and  gave  the  captain  two  hogs  : 
and  the  master  being  sent  to  attend  her  home,  she  clothed  him  in  the 

17* 


198  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

dress  of  the  country,  as  she  had  done  the  captain  and  his  retinue.  On 
the  21st  she  repeated  the  visit,  and  presented  him  with  some  hogs.  On 
her  departure  she  invited  the  captain  to  her  house,  who,  taking  some 
officers  with  him,  attended  her  home.  On  their  arrival,  she  tied  round 
thfiir  hats  some  wreaths  of  plaited  hair,  and  distinguished  the  captain's 
by  the  additional  ornament  of  a  tuft  of  feathers  of  different  colours. 
When  they  returned,  she  went  with  them  to  the  water-side,  and  ordered 
some  presents  into  the  boat.  On  the  24th  the  captain  presented  his 
friend,  the  old  Indian,  with  cloth  and  other  matters,  and  sent  a  variety 
of  things  to  the  queen,  among  which  were  a  cat  with  kitten,  turkeys, 
geese,  hens,  and  various  kinds  of  garden  seeds  ;  which  compUment  she 
returned  by  a  present  of  fruit  and  hogs.  While  they  remained  here, 
they  sowed  peas  and  garden  seeds,  and  staid  long  enough  to  see  them 
come  up,  and  likely  to  thrive. 

The  captain,  having  sent  a  party  on  shore  on  the  25th  to  examine  the 
country  minutely,  caused  a  tent  to  be  erected  to  observe  an  eclipse  of  the 
sun,  and  when  it  was  ended,  took  his  telescope  to  the  queen's  house  to 
show  her  the  use  of  it  ;  and  her  surprise  is  not  to  be  expressed,  on  her 
beholding  several  object^  which  she  was  very  familiar  with,  but  which 
were  too  distant  to  be  seen  by  the  naked  eye.  On  the  conclusion  of  this 
mental  feast,  the  captain  invited  the  queen  and  her  attendants  on  board 
the  ship,  judging  that  no  insult  would  be  offered  to  the  party  he  had  sent 
out,  while  the  principal  people  were  in  his  power.  The  queen's  atten- 
dants ate  heartily  of  an  elegant  dinner,  and  drank  water  only  ;  but  the 
queen  would  neither  eat  nor  drink.  When  the  party  returned  from  their 
excursion,  the  captain  gave  orders  for  landing  the  queen  and  her  train. 
She  made  signs  to  be  informed  if  he  held  his  resolution  as  to  the  time  of 
his  departure  ;  and  being  answered  in  the  affirmative,  her  tears  witnessed 
the  agitation  of  her  mind. 

On  the  26th  the  queen  visited  the  captain,  with  her  usual  presents. 
In  the  afternoon  she  came  again,  and  solicited  him  to  remain  ten  days  lon- 
ger :  but  being  informed  that  he  should  certainly  sail  on  the  following  day, 
she  burst  into  tears,  and  demanding  when  he  would  come  again,  was  told 
in  fifty  days.  SJie  remained  on  board  till  evening,  when,  being  informed 
that  the  boat  waited  for  her,  she  wept  with  more  violence  than  she  had 
yet  done.  At  length  this  affectionate  creature  went  over  the  ship's  side, 
as  did  the  old  Indian  who  had  been  so  serviceable  to  the  crew.  This 
man  had  signified,  that  his  son  should  sail  with  the  captain  ;  but  when  the 
time  of  departure  came,  the  youth  was  not  to  be  found  ;  and  it  was 
thought  that  the  parental  affection  had  got  the  better  of  the  promise. 

Early  the  next  morning  two  boats  w6re  sent  to  fill  a  few  casks  of  water ; 
but  the  officer,  alarmed  at  finding  the  shore  crowded  with  people,  was 
about  to  return.  This  brought  the  queen  forward,  who  commanded  the 
Indians  to  retire  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  then  made  signs 
for  the  boats  to  land.  While  the  water  was  filling,  she  ordered  some 
presents  into  the  boat,  and  entreated  to  go  once  more  to  the  ship  ;  bu«- 
the  officer  having  it  in  charge  not  to  bring  off  a  single  native,  she  order 
ed  her  double  canoe  out,  and  was  followed  by  many  others.  When  she 
had  been  on  board,  weeping  bitterly,  for  an  hour,  advantage  was  taken  of 
a  breeze,  and  the  ship  got  under  sail.  She  now  tenderly  embraced  the 
captain  and  officers,  and  left  the  ship ;  but  the  wind  falling,  the  canoes 
all  put  back,  and  once  more  reached  the  ship,  to  which  the  queen's  being 
made  fast,  she  advanced  to  the  bow  of  the  canoe,  and  v;ept  incessantly. 
The  captain  presented  her  with  several  articles  of  use  and  ornament,  which 


SAMUEL  WALLIS,  199 

she  received  in  silent  sorrow.  After  some  time  a  breeze  springing  up, 
the  queen  and  her  attendants  took  their  final  leave,  with  many  tears, 
which  drew:  corresponding  tears  from  the  eyes  of  our  countrymen. 

The  place  where  the  ship  had  lain  was  called  Port  Royal  Harbour,  and  is 
situated  in  17  degrees  30  minutes  south  latitude,  and  150  degrees  west 
longitude. 

The  men  of  Otaheite  are  from  five  feet  seven  to  five  feet  ten  inches  high, 
well-proportioned,  alert,  and  of  good  countenances.  The  women  from  five 
feet  to  five  and  a  half,  handsome  in  general,  but  some  of  them  as  beautilui 
as  can  be  imagined.  The  complexion  of  those  men  who  are  much  on  the 
water  is  rather  red  ;  but  the  natural  colour  of  them  all  is  the  tawny. 
They  are  remarkably  distinguished  from  all  the  other  natives  of  Asia, 
Africa,  and  America,  by  the  colours  of  their  hair  ;  for  that  of  the  former 
is  universally  black,  while  the  people  of  Otaheite  have  the  various  colours 
of  black,  brown,  red,  and  flaxen  ;  most  of  the  children  having  the  latter  ; 
when  left  loose,  it  has  a  strong  natural  curl,  but  it  is  usually  worn  tied 
in  two  bunchss,  one  on  each  side  the  head,  or  in  a  single  bunch  in  the 
middle.  They  anoint  the  head  with  the  oil  of  the  cocoa  nut,  mixed  with 
a  root  of  a  fragrant  smell. 

An  Indian  who  attended  the  queen  appearing  to  be  fond  of  imitating 
the  English,  was  presented  with  a  suit  of  the  heuienant's  clothes,  which 
became  him  extremely  well.  As  it  was  shoal  water  at  the  landing  place, 
the  English  officers  were  carried  on  shore  ;  and  this  man,  unwiUing  to 
be  out  of  the  fashion,  was  carried  in  the  same  manner  by  the  Indians. 
In  his  attempt  to  use  a  knife  and  fork  at  first,  his  hand  always  went 
to  his  mouth,  while  the  food  remained  stuck  on  the  end  of  the  fork. 

Besides  the  articles  already  mentioned,  tliese  people  eat  the  flesh  of 
dogs.  Rats  abound  on  the  island,  but  are  not  eaten.  The  river  produces 
parrot-fish,  groopers,  cray-fish,  and  mullet,  and  conchs  and  muscles  are 
found  on  the  rocks  ;  the  inhabitants  use  nets,  and  hooks  and  lines. 

There  is  something  singular  in  their  way  of  dressing  their  food  ;  having 
produced  a  fire  by  rubbing  two  pieces  of  dry  wood  together,  they  dig  a  pit, 
which  being  paved  with  stones,  they  make  a  fire  in  it.  The  stones  being 
properly  heated,  they  rake  away  the  ashes,  and  covering  the  stones  with 
green  leaves  of  the  cocoa  nut  tree,  they  put  their  meat  in  plantain  leaves,  and 
place  it  in  the  pit,  covering  it  over  with  the  hot  ashes,  on  which  they  lay 
bread  fruit  and  yams  enclosed  in  plantain  leaves  ;  these  again  they  cover 
with  the  embers  intermixed  with  the  hot  stones  ;  to  this  succeeds  a  layer 
of  cocoa  nut  leaves,  and  upon  the  whole  is  a  covering  oT  earth.  In  this 
manner  a  small  hog  is  dressed  whole,  but  a  large  one  is  cut  in  two;  and 
Captain  Wallis  asserts,  that  this  method  of  cookery  exceeds  every  other  he 
has  known,  the  meat  being  extremely  tender  and  full  of  gravy.  Their 
only  sauces  are  salt  water  and  fruit,  and  their  knives  are  made  of  shells. 

The  Dolphin  sailed  from  Otaheite  on  the  27th  of  July,  1757,  and  pass- 
ed the  Duke  of  York's  Island,  the  coast  of  which  abounds  with  plantain 
trees,  cocoa  nut,  bread  fruit,  and  apple  trees.  On  the  28th  they  discover- 
ed land,  which  was  called  Sir  Charles  Saunder's  Island.  On  the  30th 
again  made  land,  which  received  the  name  of  Lord  Howe's  Island,  on 
which  smoke  was  seen,  but  no  inhabitants.  Their  next  discovery  was  of 
some  dangerous  shoals,  to  which  Captam  Wallis  gave  the  name  of  the 
Scilly  islands. 

They  now  steered  westward  till  the  13th  of  August,  when  they  saw- 
two  small  islands,  one  of  which  was  named  Kcppel's  Isle,  and  the  other 
Boscawen's  Island ;  on  the  latter  of  which  were  several  inhabitants. 


aOO  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

On  the  I6th  they  again  discovered  land,  to  which  the  officers  gave  the 
name  of  Wallis's  Island,  The  coast  of  this  island  is  A'ery  rocky,  and  the 
trees  grow  almost  to  the  edge  of  the  water.  The  inhabitants  wore  no 
covering  but  a  mat  round  the  waist  :  each  man  had  a  very  large  club,  two 
of  which  were  purchased  by  the  boat's  crew. 

On  the  18th  of  September  they  discovered  the  Island  of  Saypan,  and 
soon  afterward  that  of  Trnian,  off  which  they  anchored  on  the  day  follow- 
mg.  Tents  v»eTe  erected  for  the  sick,  who  were  sent  on  shore  with  all 
expedition.  The  smith's  forge  and  carpenter's  chest  were  also  landed  ; 
and  the  captain  and  first  lieutenant,  who  both  continued  ill,  went  on  shore 
with  a  party  of  men  to  hunt  for  cattle.  By  the  15th  of  October  the  fruit 
and  water  were  carried  on  board,  and  all  the  sick  being  recovered,  prepara- 
tions were  made  for  sailing ;  and  on  the  next  day  they  left  the  bay,  and 
sailed  to  the  west. 

On  the  3d  of  November  they  discovered  three  islands,  which  were 
named  Sandy  Isle,  Small  Key,  and  Long  Island  ;  and  on  the  day  follow- 
ing they  saw  another,  to  which  Captain  Wallis  gave  the  name  of  New 
Island  ;  which  islands  are  in  10  degrees  20  minutes  north  latitude,  and  237 
degrees  30  minutes  west  longitude.  They  now  altered  their  course,  and  oft 
the  13th  saw  the  Islands  of  Timoun,  Aros,  and  Pesang.  On  the  16th  they 
crossed  the  equinoctial  line,  and  came  again  into  south  latitude.  The  next 
day  they  saw  the  Islands  of  Pulo  Tote  and  Pulo  Weste,  soon  after  which 
they  had  sight  of  the  seven  islands.  On  the  22d  saw  the  coast  of  Sumatra, 
and  came  to  an  anchor  in  the  road  of  Batavia  on  the  30th  of  November, 
1767.  From  this  he  sailed  on  the  8th  of  December,  without  losing  a 
single  man,  and  having  only  two  on  the  sick  list. 

On  the  24th  of  January  they  encountered  a  dreadful  storm,  which  tore 
the  sails  to  pieces,  broke  a  rudder-chain,  and  carried  several  of  the  booms 
overboard ;  yet,  during  this  storm,  they  observed  a  number  of  birds  and 
butterflies.  On  the  30th  they  saw  land,  and  can»e  to  an  anchor  in  Tabl« 
Bay,  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  on  the  4th  of  February. 

On  the  25th  all  hands  were  ordered  on  board,  and  on  the  17lh  of  March 
they  anchored  in  the  Bay  of  St.  Helena,  and  sent  persons  on  shore  to  get 
water,  and  others  to  gather  purslain,  of  which  there  is  great  plenty.  On 
the  28th  they  crossed  the  equinoctial  line,  getting  once  more  into  north 
latitude,  and  on  the  24th  of  next  month  saw  the  Cape  of  Pico.  No 
material  incident  happened  from  this  time  to  the  end  of  the  voyage,  which 
was  happily  conjpleted  by  the  Dolphin  coming  to  an  anchor  in  the  Downs 
on  the  20th  of  May,  1768. 


CAPTAIN  CARTERET.— 1766-69. 

Mr.  Carteret  having  already  circumnavigated  the  globe  with  Commo 
dore  Byron,  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Swallow  sloop  soon 
after  his  return  to  England  ;  and  on  the  22dof  August,  1766,  sailed  from 
Plymouth  in  company  with  bis  majesty's  ship  the  Dolphin,  and  the  Prince 
Frederic  store-ship. 

It  will  be  needless  to  recite  any  particulars  which  happened  till  the 
11th  of  April,  when  the  Swallow  parted  company  with  the  Dolphin  and 
Prince  Frederic,  as  already  related  in  the  account  of  the  preceding  voyage. 
At"  nine  o'clock  on  this  day,  the  Swallow  had  totally  lost  sight  of  the 
Dolphin,  which  Captain  Carteret  judged  to  be  then  clear  of  the  mouth  of 
the  straits ;  and  as  the  Swallow  was  then  under  land,  where  she  had  not 


CAPTAIN  CARTERET.  201 

the  advantage  of  any  considerable  breeze,  ihey  entertained  iitj  hope  of 
seeing  their  consort  during  the  remainder  of  the  voyage. 

At  this  time  all  the  cloth,  linen,  cutlery-wares,  and  trinkets,  were  on 
board  the  Dolphin ;  a  circumstance  which  aggravated  Captain  Carteret's 
distress,  as  he  had  not  anything  proper  to  barter  with  the  Indians.  A 
few  hours  after  the  ships  parted  company,  the  Swallow  encountered  a 
violent  storm,  during  which  there  was  so  thick  a  fog  that  they  could  not 
see  mountainous  land  which  they  were  within  half  a  mile  of.  They  sailed 
from  this  place  early  in  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  April,  and  soon  after- 
ward, by  the  sudden  shifting  of  the  wind,  encountered  so  violent  a  storm 
that  they  were  in  danger  of  sinking.  They  at  length  got  into  the  open 
sea,  after  a  very  providential  deliverance,  for,  had  the  wind  again  shifted, 
the  ship  must  have  been  unavoidably  lost. 

From  the  27th  of  this  month  till  the  1st  of  May  they  had  continual 
storms,  and  on  this  day  a  prodigious  sea  laid  the  whole  ship  under  water 
for  some  time,  while  the  wind  blew  a  hurricane,  and  the  rain  poured  down 
in  torrents.  On  the  9th  of  May  they  were  in  sight  of  the  Island  of  Masa- 
fuero  ;  and  on  the  10th  saw  Juan  Fernandez,  and  sailed  round  to  Cum- 
berland Bay,  on  the  cast  side  of  it. 

The  Spaniards  having  fortified  this  island,  (a  circumstance  till  then 
unknown  to  Captain  Carteret,)  a  number  of  men  were  seen  on  the  shore, 
and  two  large  boats  lying  on  the  beach.  A  house  and  four  pieces  of  can- 
non were  observed  near  the  sea-side,  and  on  the  brow  of  a  hill,  at  a  small 
distance,  was  a  fort  with  Spanish  colours  flying.  Many  cattle  were  seen 
on  the  hills,  and  above  twenty  houses  on  different  parts  of  the  island. 

On  the  eastern  side  of  the  west  bay  they  saw  a  kind  of  guard-house, 
with  two  pieces  of  cannon,  on  carriage.s,  near  it  They  now  returned 
toward  Cumberland  Bay,  when  a  boat  put  after  them  ;  but  night  coming 
on,  they  lost  sight  of  her.  Thus  disappointed  of  refreshments  so  much 
wanted,  they  sailed  for  Masafuero,  and  anchored  on  the  12lh,  but  were 
unable  to  land,  as  the  beach  was  full  of  rocks,  and  the  surf  ran  so  vio- 
lently that  the  best  swimmers  could  not  get  through  the  breakers  ;  the 
next  morning,  however,  the  boats  filled  some  water  casks. 

On  the  15ih  anchored  on  the  east  side  of  the  island  ;  but  were  driven 
from  iheir  moorings,  and  kept  out  at  sea  all  night.  In  the  morning  the 
cutter  was  sent  for  water,  and  the  ship  got  near  the  shore,  where  she 
soon  received  several  casks,  and  sent  the  boat  for  more  ;  the  long  boat 
was  likewise  despatched  on  this  service. 

On  the  17th  the  cutter  was  again  sent  for  water;  and,  when  she  re- 
turned, the  lieutenant  reported,  that  the  violent  rains  which  had  fallen  iu 
the  night  had  brought  down  such  a  deluge  of  water,  that  the  people  on 
shore  narrowly  escaped  drowning,  after  losing  several  of  the  caska. 
This  day  such  a  quantity  of  fish  was  taken  by  the  boat,  with  hooks  and 
lines  only,  as  was  equal  to  the  consumption  of  the  whole  crew.  On  the 
20th  the  ship,  which  had  been  some  time  standing  off  and  on  near  the 
shore,  came  again  to  an  anchor,  when  the  long  boat  being  sent  out,  pro- 
cured, in  a  short  time,  an  ample  supply  of  fish.  During  the  night,  and 
all  the  following  day,  they  had  extreme  bad  weather ;  but,  as  soon  as  it 
became  moderately  calm,  three  seamen  were  sent  on  shore  to  kill  seals, 
and  make  oil  of  their  fat,  for  the  use  of  the  lamps. 

The  Island  of  Masafuero  is  of  a  triangular  form,  about  twenty-two 
miles  in  circumference,  and,  at  a  distance,  has  the  appearance  of  a  singfe 
rock  ;  there  is  good  anchorage  on  many  parts  of  the  coast,  and  the  island 
abounds  with  goats.     Wood  and  water  are  plentiful,  but  difficult  to  be 


202  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

procured,  on  account  of  the  violence  of  the  surf.  Cod,  hallibut,  coal- 
fish,  and  cray-fish,  are  to  be  caught  in  great  numbers  ;  and  seal  are  so 
numerous,  that  the  killing  of  thousands  could  make  no  apparent  difference 
in  their  numbers.  The  mountain  cabbage  grows  on  the  island,  which 
likewise  abounds  in  birds,  among  which  are  hawks  of  a  very  large  size. 

They  now  sailed  to  the  north,  with  the  hope  of  getting  the  south-east 
trade  wind,  till  the  17th  of  June,  which  is  the  depth  of  winter,  v.-hen  the 
weather  was  dark  and  cold,  with  sleet,  rain,  thunder,  and  lightning. 

On  the  2d  of  July  they  discovered  an  island,  which  was  well  clothed 
with  trees,  and  down  the  side  of  which  ran  a  stream  of  fresh  water.     It 
appeared  to  be  about  five  miles  in  circumference,  and  was  called  Pitcairn's  * 
Island,  from  the  name  of  a  young  gentleman  who  first  saw  it. 

On  the  llth  Captain  Carteret  gave  the  name  of  the  Bishop  of  dsna- 
burgh's  Island  to  a  low  piece  of  land  discovered  this  day,  which  was  well 
clothed  with  verdure.  On  the  12th  they  saw  two  other  small  islands, 
on  one  of  which  the  boat's  crew  landed,  and  found  birds  so  tame  as  to  be 
taken  without  the  least  difficulty.  The  other  island  was  about  fifteen 
miles  distant :  but  neither  afforded  either  water  or  vegetables.  They 
were  called  the  Duke  of  Gloucester's  Islands  ;  and  Captain  Carteret  sup- 
poses them  to  be  the  same  land  which  was  seen  by  Quiros, 

On  the  lOlh  of  August  the  ship  sprung  a  leak,  in  a  part  which  they 
could  not  come  at  to  repair,  so  that  their  situation  was  truly  alarming ; 
but  two  days  afterward  discovered  land,  which  gave  fresh  spirits  to  the 
almost  desponding  crew.  The  captain  observed  seven  islands,  and  sailed 
toward  two  of  them,  which  lay  very  near  together :  in  the  evening  came 
to  an  anchor  near  the  largest,  on  which  were  seen  two  of  the  natives, 
who  were  negroes,  with  woolly  heads,  and  wore  no  kind  of  clothing. 
On  the  day  following  the  cutter,  with  the  master  and  a  party  of  seamen, 
was  sent  to  the  westward,  to  search  for  a  place  to  procure  wood  and 
water,  to  seek  for  refreshments  for  the  sick,  and  to  discover  a  place  where 
the  ship  might  be  repaired.  He  received  orders  to  be  strictly  on  his 
guard  against  any  attack  from  the  natives,  and  took  with  him  a  few 
trinkets  that  happened  to  be  on  board,  to  procure  their  good  will.  In  a 
short  time  after  he  returned  on  board,  having  three  arrows  sticking  in  his 
body.  The  account  he  gave  of  his  expedition  was,  in  substance^  as  fol- 
lows :  Being  arrived  at  a  place  about  fifteen  miles  from  the  ship,  he 
saw  some  houses,  but  only  a  very  few  of  the  natives,  and  landed  with 
four  of  the  crew,  well  armed  ;  the  first  fears  of  the  Indians  being  dispelled, 
they  accepted  his  presents  with  pleasure,  and,  in  return,  gave  him  some 
fish,  yams,  and  cocoa  nuts.  He  then  went  to  the  houses  ;  but  soon  ob- 
serving a  number  of  the  natives  among  the  trees,  and  several  canoes 
coming  round  a  point,  he  hastened  toward  the  boat ;  but,  before  he  could 
embark,  a  general  attack  with  bows  and  arrows  was  made,  as  well  on 
those  in  the  boat  as  on  those  on  shore.  Thus  situated,  the  crew  fired 
repeatedly,  killing  and  wounding  many  of  the  Indians  ;  still,  however,  the 
latter  continued  the  fight,  some  of  them  running  into  the  water  as  high 
as  the  breast ;  and  when  the  boat  got  farther  off,  she  was  pursued  by  the^ 
canoes,  which  did  not  retreat  till  one  of  them  was  sunk,  and  many  of  the 
people  in  the  others  were  killed. 

The  captain  now  determined  to  attempt  the  reparation  of  the  ship  in 
her  present  situation,  and  succeeded  so  far  that  the  leak  was  greatly 
reduced.  On  the  15th  a  party  was  sent  on  shore  to  get  water,  a  shot 
having  been  previously  fired  into  the  woods,  to  disperse  any  of  ther 
natives  that  might  be  lurking  in  them.     The  lieutenant  was  likewise 


CAPtAlI"!  CARTERETw  »1^03 

despatched  in  the  cutter  to  keep  the  coast  clear  for  the  waterers,  by 
repeated  firings  into  the  woods  ;  yet,  in  spite  of  these  precautions,  a 
flight  of  arrows  was  soon  discharged  among  them,  by  which  one  of  the 
seamen  was  dangerously  wounded. 

As  the  master  was  now  dying  of  his  wounds,  as  the  captain  and  lieu- 
tenant were  so  ill  that  their  recovery  was  doubtful,  and  as  their  was  no 
chance  of  procuring  proper  refreshments  at  thia  place,  all  intentions 
of  pursuing  the  voyage  farther  to  the  southward  were  laid,  aside  ;  the 
captain,  therefore,  having  named  the  place  Egmont  Island,  and  the 
harbour  where  the  ship  had  lain  Swallow  Bay,  sailed  from  it  on  the  17th 
of  August,  1767. 

On  the  same  day  an  island  was  discovered,  which  received  the  name 
of  Portland's  Island,  four  miles  from  which  they  saw  a  harbour,  which 
was  called  Byron's  Harbour ;  three  leagues  from  it,  they  had  sight  of 
the  bay  where  the  Indians  had  attacked  the  crew  of  the  cutter.  This 
was  called  Bloody  Bay  ;  on  its  borders  were  a  number  of  houses  well 
constructed,  and  one  much  longer  than  the  others,  which  had  the  appea- 
rance of  a  kind  of  hall  for  the  transaction  of  public  business.  In  this 
place,  which  was  well  built,  and  covered  with  a  kind  of  thatch,  the 
master  and  his  party  had  been  received  by  the  natives,  before  the  wanton 
cutting  down  of  the  cocoa  nut  tree.  A  large  number  of  arrows  were 
hung  in  bundles  round  the  room,  the  floor  and  sides  of  which  were 
covered  with  matting.  In  this  neighbourhood  were  many  gardens,  sur- 
tounded  by  stone-walls,  and  planted  with  vegetables.  Three  miles  from 
this  village  a  large  town  was  seen,  in  the  front  of  which,  toward  the  sea, 
was  an  angular  kind  of  fortification,  built  of  stone,  and  near  five  feet  high. 

About  three  miles  hence  they  saw  a  bay,  into  which  a  river  empties 
itself,  which  they  called  Granville's  River,  and  it  appeared  to  be  naviga- 
ble for  small  vessels  far  up  the  country.  The  point  of  this  bay  was 
called  Ferrers's  Point ;  and  from  this  the  land  forms  a  large  bay,  near 
which  is  a  considerable  town,  inhabited  by  an  incredible  number  of  peo- 
ple, who,  while  the  ship  was  sailing  by,  came  out  of  their  houses,  hold- 
ing something  like  a  bundle  of  grass  in  their  hands,  with  which  they 
appeared  to  stroke  each  other,  running  in  rings,  or  dancing,  all  the  while. 
Sailing  onward  a  few  miles,  they  saw  another  point,  which  was  called 
Carteret  Point,  on  which  was  a  large  canoe,  with  an  awning  over  it ; 
at  a  small  distance  was  another  town,  fortified  as  that  before- mentioned. 
The  inhabitants  of  this  place  likewise  advanced  before  their  houses,  and 
danced  as  the  others  had  done.  The  dance  being  ended,  many  came  off 
in  canoes  toward  the  ship  ;  but  having  got  near  enough  to  have  a  good 
view  of  her,  they- would  advance  no  farther. 

They  soon  saw  another  small  island,  which  was  named  Trevanion's 
Island,  and  the  north  part  of  it  was  called  Cape  Trevanion.  Both  the 
main  land  and  this  island  abounded  with  inhabitants  ;  and  a  boat  being 
sent  to  sound  the  passage,  they  no  sooner  observed  that  she  had  left  the 
ship,  than  several  canoes  advanced  to  attack  her.  The  Indians  having 
let  fly  their  arrows,  the  boat's  crew  fired,  and  killed  one  man  and  wound- 
ed another.  A  gun,  laden  with  grape-shot,  was  at  the  same  time  fired 
from  the  ship,  on  which  all  the  canoes  pulled  hard  for  the  shore,  except 
the  one  with  the  wounded  man  in  it,  which  being  taken  to  the  ^hip,  tha 
surgeon  was  ordered  to  examine  his  wounds.  One  of  this  poor  fellow's 
arras  was  broken,  and  a  shot  had  gone  through  his  head  ;  and  the  siirgeon 
being  of  opinion  that  the  latter  wound  was  mortal,  he  was  placed  in  hit 
canoe  again,  and  with  one  hand  rowed  toward  the  shore. 


204  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

To  all  the  islands  they  had  now  left  Captain  Carteret  gave  the  general 
name  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Islands  ;  and,  besides  those  already  mention- 
ed, he  saw  several,  which  he  named  as  follows  :  viz.,  Lord  Howe's 
Island,  Keppel's  Island,  Lord  Edgcome's  Island,  Ourry's  Island,  and 
Volcano  Island ;  this  last  being  so  denominated  from  a  sn>oke  that 
issued  from  its  top,  which  is  of  an  amazing  height,  and  shaped  like  a 
sugar  loaf. 

Sailed  on  the  20th  of  August,  and  discovered  a  small  island,  which 
was  called  Gower's  Island,  the  people  of  which  did  not  differ  in  any- 
thing material  from  those  of  the  islands  he  had  lately  left.  Some  cocoa 
nuts  were  here  procured  in  exchange  for  nails  ;  and  the  inhabitants  had 
intimated,  that  they  woold  furnish  a  farther  supply  the  next  morning  ;  but 
it  was  then  found  that  the  current  had  carried  the  ship  considerably  to 
the  south  during  the  night,  and  brought  them  within  sight  of  two  other 
islands,  one  of  which  was  called  Simpson's  Island,  and  the  other  Car- 
teret's Island. 

They  fell  in  with  nine  islands  in  the  night  of  the  24th,  which  Captain 
Carteret  supposes  to  be  the  same  that  were  discovered  by  Tasman,  and 
are  named  Ohang  Java  ;  eight  of  these  are  very  small,  but  the  other  is 
more  extensive,  and  are  all  inhabited  by  blacks,  whose  heads  are  woolly, 
like  those  on  the  coast  of  Africa.  The  next  day  they  had  sight  of  an 
island  covered  with  verdure,  which  was  called  Sir  Charles  Hardy's  Island, 
and  from  the  number  of  fires  seen  on  it,  was  supposed  to  be  inhabited. 
This  day  they  likewise  had  sight  of  a  large  island,  formed  of  three  high 
hills,  which  took  the  name  of  Winchelsea's  Island.  On  the  36th  saw 
a  large  island  to  the  north,  which  Captain  Carteret  imagines  to  have  been 
the  Island  of  St.  John,  discovered  by  Schouten. 

This  day  were  within  sight  of  Nova  Britannia,  and  the  next  morning 
the  current  drove  the  ship  into  a  deep  bay,  which,  in  Dampier's  Voyages, 
is  called  St.  George's  Bay.  On  the  28th  they  gave  the  name  of  Wal- 
lis's  Island  to  a  small  one  in  a  bay,  off  which  they  came  to  an  anchor, 
apd  were  now  7,500  miles  due-west  from  the  main  land  of  America. 

On  the  next  day,  after  great  fatigue,  weighed  the  anchor,  and  sailed  to 
a  place  which  they  called  English  Cove,  where  they  immediately  began 
to  take  in  wood  and  water.  They  now  attempted  to  catch  fish  with 
hooks  and  lines,  but  none  of  them  would  bite  ;  nor  wece  they  much 
more  successful  with  their  nets  ;  turtle  likewise  were  very  plentiful,  yet 
they  could  nol  take  any  ;  but  at  low  water  picked  up  some  large  cockles 
and  rock  oysters.  From  the  shore  they  procured  cocoa  nuts  and  the 
cabbage  of  the  cocoa  tree,  which  is  crisp  and  juicy  ;  this,  when  eaten 
raw,  tastes  like  a  chestnut ;  but,  when  boiled,  has  a  more  agreeable  flavour 
than  the  parsnip.  It  was  found  to  be  excellent  when  boiled  with  porta- 
ble soup  and  oatmeal.  They  likewise  gathered  some  plumbs,  which 
tasted  like  those  of  the  West  Indies,  which  are  called  Jamaica  plumbs  ; 
and  by  this  supply  of  vegetables,  they  had  soon  reason  to  rejoice  in  the 
blessing  of  returning  health. 

They  left  this  cove  on  the  7th  of  September,  and  anchored  on  the 
same  day  almost  close  to  a  grove  of  cocoa  nut  trees,  where  they  supplied 
themselves  with  the  fruit  and  the  cabbage  in  very  great  abundance  ;  and 
called  the  place  Carteret's  Harbour,  which  being  formed  by  the  main  and 
two  islands,  one  of  them  was  named  Leigh's  Island,  and  the  other 
Cocoa  nut  Island.  On  the  9th  of  September  the  anchor  was  weighed, 
and  wind  and  current  being  both  contrary,  they  steered  round  the  coast 
into  a  channel  between  two  islands,  which  channel  was  divided  by  an 


CAPTAIN  CARTERET.  205 

Other  island,  to  which  Captain  Carteret  gave  the  name  of  the  Duke  of 
York's  Island,  and  near  which  are  several  smaller  ones.  To  the  south 
of  the  largest  are  three  hills  of  singular  form,  which  were  called  the 
Mother  and  Daughters,  one  of  which  was  supposed  to  be  a  volcano,  from 
the  large  clouds  of  smoke  seen  issuing  from  it.  A  point  they  called 
Cape  Palliser,  lies  to  the  east  of  these  hills,  and  Cape  Stephens  to  the 
west  ;  north  of  which  last  lies  an  island,  which  took  the  name  of  the 
Isle  of  Man. 

Having  brought-to  for  the  night,  they  sailed  next  morning,  when  some 
of  the  Indians  put  off  in  canoes  toward  the  ship  ;  but  the  wind  being  fair 
and  blowing  fresh,  it  was  not  thought  proper  to  wait  for  them.  Steering 
north-west  by  west,  they  lost  sight  of  New  Britain  on  the  11th,  and  it 
being  now  found  that  what  had  been  taken  for  a  bay  was  a  strait,  it  was 
called  St.  George's  Channel,  and  the  island  on  the  north  of  it  received 
the  name  of  New  Ireland.  In  the  evening  they  discovered  a  large  island, 
well  clothed  with  verdure,  which  was  denominated  Sandwich  Island  ;  oflf 
this  island  the  ship  lay  great  part  of  the  night,  during  which  time  a  per- 
petual noise  was  heard,  resembling  the  sound  of  a  drum.  When  they 
had  almost  cleared  the  strait,  the  weather  falling  calm,  a  number  of 
canoes  approached  the  ship,  and,  though  they  could  not  be  prevailed  on 
to  go  on  board,  exchanged  some  little  matters  with  the  crew,  receiving 
nails  and  bits  of  iron,  which  they  preferred  to  everything  else  that  was 
offered.  Though  the  canoes  of  these  people  were  formed  out  of  single 
trees,  they  were  between  80  and  100  feet  in  length.  The  natives  are 
negroes,  und  their  hair  is  of  the  woolly  kind,  but  they  have  neither  thick 
lips  nor  flat  noses.  They  wore  shell-work  on  their  legs  and  arms,  but 
were  otherwise  naked,  except  that  their  hair  and  beards  were  i)owdered 
with  white  powder,  and  a  feather  was  stuck  into  the  head  above  the  ear. 
Their  arms  consisted  of  a  long  stick  and  a  spear  ;  and  it  was  observed, 
that  they  had  fishing-nets  and  cordage. 

They  now  sailed  west,  and  coming  in  sight  of  the  south-west  point  of 
the  island,  it  was  called  Cape  Byron  ;  near  which  is  an  island  of  considera- 
ble extent,  which  received  the  name  of  New  Hanover.  The  strait  they 
had  now  passed  was  called  Byron's  Strait ;  one  of  the  largest  islands  they 
had  seen,  Byron's  Island  ;  and  the  south-west  point  of  New  Hanover, 
Queen  Charlotte's  Foreland.  On  the  following  day  they  saw  several 
small  islands,  which  received  the  name  of  the  Duke  of  Portland's  Islands. 

When  they  had  completely  navigated  St.  George's  Channel,  the  whole 
length  of  which  is  about  100  leagues,  they  sailed  a  westward  course,  and 
on  the  14th  of  September  discovered  several  islands.  The  next  morn- 
ing some  hundreds  of  the  natives  came  off  in  canoes  toward  the  ship,  and 
were  invited  on  board  by  every  token  of  friendship  and  good  will  ;  not- 
withstanding which,  when  they  came  within  reach,  they  threw  several 
lances  at  the  seamen  on  the  deck.  A  great  gun  and  several  muskets  were 
now  fired  at  them,  by  which  some  were  killed  or  wounded,  on  which  they 
rowed  toward  the  shore  ;  and,  after  they  had  got  to  a  distance,  a  shot 
was  fired  so  as  to  fall  beyond  them,  to  convince  them  that  they  were  not 
out  of  the  reach  of  the  guns.  These  people  were  almost  negroes,  with 
woolly  hair,  which  they  powdered  ;  and  they  went  naked,  except  the  orna- 
ments of  shells  round  their  arms  and  legs. 

Captain  Carteret  now  coasted  along  the  islands,  to  which  he  gave  the 
general  name  of  the  Admiralty  Islands.  He  describes  them  as  having  a 
most  enchanting  appearance,  being  covered  with  woods,  groves  of  cocoa 
nut  trees,  and  the  houses  of  the  natives.     The  largest  of  these  islands  is 

iS 


2(^  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

computed  to  be  above  fifty  miles  in  length  :  and  he  supposes  that  they 
produce  many  valuable  articles,  particularly  spices. 

They  discovered  two  small  verdant  islands  on  the  19th,  which  were 
called  Dufour's  Island  and  Matty's  Island,  the  inhabitants  of  which  last 
ran  along  the  coast  with  lights  during  the  night.  They  had  sight  of  two 
other  small  islands  on  the  24th,  which  were  called  Stephens's  Islands,  and 
which  abounded  with  beautiful  trees. 

On  the  evening  of  the  25ih  they  had  sight  of  three  islands,  the  natives 
of  which  came  otf  in  canoes,  and  went  on  board  the  ship.  They  barter- 
ed cocoa  nuts  for  some  bits  of  iron,  with  which  metal  they  did  not  seem 
unacquamted,  and  appeared  extravagantly  fond  of  it.  They  called  it 
parram,  and  intimated,  that  a  ship  sometimes  touched  at  their  islands. 
These  people  were  of  the  copper  colour,  and  had  fine  black  hair  ;  but  their 
beards  were  very  small,  as  they  were  continually  plucking  the  hair  from 
their  faces.  Their  teeth  were  even  and  white,  and  their  countenances 
agreeable ;  their  activity  was  such,  that  they  ran  to  the  mast-head  even 
quicker  than  the  seamen.  They  ate  and  drank  anything  that  was  ^iven 
them  ;  and  had  not  the  least  degree  of  reserve  in  their  behaviour.  Their 
dress  consisted  only  of  a  piece  of  fine  matting  round  the  waist.  As  the 
current  carried  the  ship  at  a  great  rate,  the  captain  had  no  opportunity  of 
landing,  though  the  Indians  offered  that  some  of  their  people  should  re- 
main on  board,  as  a  security  for  the  safe  return  of  such  of  the  seamen  as 
might  be  sent  on  shore.  One  of  the  Indians,  on  finding  that  none  of  the 
crew  were  to  land,  absolutely  refused  to  leave  the  ship,  and  was  therefore 
carried  to  the  Island  of  Celebes,  where  he  died.  This  man  was  named 
Joseph  Freewill,  and  the  largest  of  the  islands  was  called  Freewill  Island  ; 
but  the  natives  called  it  Pegan ;  and  the  names  of  the  other  two  are 
Onato  and  Onello. 

On  the  evening  of  the  28th  discovered  an  island  from  the  mast-head  ; 
but  neither  visited  nor  gave  name  to  it.  On  the  12th  of  October  saw  a 
small  island,  which  v/as  named  Current  Island,  from  the  great  strength  of 
the  southerly  current ;  and  on  the  following  day  discovered  two  more 
small  islands,  which  were  called  St.  Andrew's  Islands. 

On  the  26th  they  had  sight  of  land,  which,  on  the  day  following,  they 
knew  to  be  the  Island  of  Mindanao,  and  coasted  the  south-east  part  of  it, 
in  search  of  a  bay  described  in  Dampier's  Voyages,  but  could  not  find  it. 

On  the  14th  of  November,  1767,  they  reached  the  Strait  of  Macassar, 
situate  between  the  Islands  of  Borneo  and  Celebes,  to  a  point  of  which 
latter  island  they  gave  the  name  of  Hummock  Point. 

On  the  27th  crossed  the  equinoctial  line,  and  got  into  southern  latitude^ 
at  which  time  they  found  the  current  setting  against  them,  and  the  torna- 
does became  violent.  The  crew  was  now  diminishing  by  death,  and 
weakened  daily  by  sickness,  so  that  there  were  hardly  hands  sufficient  to 
navigate  the  vessel.  On  the  3d  of  December  saw  the  islands  called  the 
Little  Pater-nosters,  which  lie  something  more  than  two  degrees  south 
of  the  fine  ;  but  it  was  out  of  their  power  to  land  anywhere  for  refresh- 
ment, as  the  winds  and  currents  were  contrary.  Not  a  man  on  board  was 
now  free  from  the  scurvy  ;  and  when  it  was  imagined  that  nothing  could 
have  aggravated  their  distress,  they  were  attacked  by  a  pirate  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  night  of  the  10th  of  December.  It  was  so  very  dark  that  they 
could  not  see  their  enemy,  who  attacked  them  with  swivel-guns  and  small 
arms  ;  but  they  returned  the  salute  so  warmly,  that  the  pirate  was  sunk, 
and  all  her  crew  perished,  after  having  wounded  two  persons  on  board 
the  Swallow,  and  done  some  very  trifling  damage  to  the  ship. 


CAPTAlfl    CARTEREt.  207 

By  the  12th  of  this  month  they  had  lost  thirteen  of  the  crew,  and  the 
death  of  thirty  others  was  hourly  dreaded.  At  this  time,  too,  the  wester- 
ly monsoou  was  set  in,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  reach  Balavia ;  and 
as  they  must  speedily  make  some  land,  or  inevitably  perish,  it  was  re- 
solved to  attempt  getting  to  Macassar,  a  Dutch  settlement  on  the  Island 
of  Celebes.  On  the  13th  they  saw  several  trees  fldating,  and  birds  sit- 
ting on  them,  and  tv;o  days  afterward  came  to  an  anchor,  at  little  more 
than  a  league  from  Macassar. 

I,ate  that  night,  the  governor  sent  a  Dutchman  on  hoard  the  Swallow, 
who  was  greatly  alarmed  to  find  that  she  was  an  English  man-of-war,  no 
such  vessel  having  ever  anchored  there  before  ;  and  so  apprehensive  of 
danger  was  he,  as  not  to  venture  to  enter  the  cabin.  Very  early  the 
next  day  the  captain  sent  a  letter  to  the  governor,  requesting  permission 
to  buy  provisions,  and  asking  shelter  for  the  shipj  till  the  proper  season 
returned  for  sailing  to  the  westward. 

Soon  after  an  answer  came,  intimating,  that  the  ship  should  instantly 
depart  from  the  port,  without  coming  any  nearer  to  the  town  ;  that  she 
should  not  anchor  on  any  part  of  the  coast,  and  that  the  captain  should 
not  permit  any  of  his  people  to  land  on  any  place  that  Was  under  the 
governor's  jurisdiction. 

As  the  most  forcible  reply  to  this,  the  captain  showed  his  dying  men 
to  the  bearers,  and  pleaded  the  urgent  necessity  of  the  case.  They  could 
not  but  see  and  feel  the  propriety  of  granting  refreshments  and  shelter 
to'persons  in  such  a  situation,  but  still  said  their  orders  were  absolute, 
and  must  be  obeyed.  Provoked  at  this  treat.nent,  the  captain  declared 
he  would  anchor  close  to  the  town  ;  and  if  they  then  refused  him  neces- 
saries, that  he  would  run  the  ship  aground,  and  himself  and  crew  would 
sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible.  Alarmed  at  this  declaration,  they 
begged  the  captain  to  remain  in  his  present  station  till  the  governor  should 
give  farther  orders.  After  several  disputes,  they  sailed  early  on  the  20th 
of  December,  and  anchored  in  the  road  of  Bonthain,  a  neighbouring  port, 
on  the  following  day. 

On  the  18th  of  January  a  letter  from  Macassar  informed  Captain 
Carteret  that  the  Dolphin,  his  consort,  had  arrived  at  Batavia, 

Having  taken  in  wood  and  water,  they  sailed  hence  on  the  22d  of  May, 
and  on  the  2d  of  June  they  had  sight  of  the  land  of  Java — on  the  follow- 
ing day  coming  to  an  anchor  in  the  road  of  Batavia. 

On  the  18th  the  captain  learned  that  orders  had  been  given  for  repairing 
the  ship  at  Onrust,  whither  a  pilot  attended  her,  and  where  she  came  to 
an  anchor  on  the  22d  of  June  ;  but  as  the  wharfs  were  pre-engaged  by 
other  ships,  the  repairs  did  not  commence  till  the  24th  of  July. 

Captain  Carteret  having  engaged  some  English  seamen,  sailed  from 
Onrust  on  the  15th  of  September  ;  and  en  the  23d  of  November  camo 
to  an  anchor  in  Tabid  Bay,  in  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  captain 
'"having  received  numberless  civdities  from  the  governor  and  other  gen- 
tlemen of  this  place,  sailed  on  the  6th  of  January ;  and  on  the  20th 
anchored  off  the  Island  of  St.  Helena,  from  whence  he  again  sailed  on 
the  24th. 

On  the  20th  of  this  month  a  ship,  which  had  been  seen  the  preceding 
day  far  to  the  leeward,  but  had  out-sailed  the  Swallow  in  the  night,  tacked 
and  stood  toward  her.  A  boat  was  sent  on  board,  in  which  was  a  young 
officer,  who,  by  many  artful  questions,  endeavoured  to  learn  from.  Cap- 
tain Carteret  all  the  most  important  particulars  of  his  voyage  ;  and  this 
piece  of  finesse  was  aggravated,  by  his  inventing  a  tale  to  disguise  those 


20S  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

of  his  own  voyage  ;  for  the  vessel  he  had  just  left  was  no  other  than  that 
of  M.  Bougainville,  which  was  then  returning  from  a  voyage  round  the 
world.  Captain  Carteret  learned  this  circumstance  afterward  from  the 
lieutenant ;  for  the  boat's  crew,  which  had  brought  the  French  officer  on 
board,  had  discovered  every  secret  to  one  of  the  English  crew  who  spoke 
French.  Captain  Carteret,  however,  kept  his  own  secret  so  well,  that 
Bougainville  was  not  at  all  the  wiser  for  the  time  hs  had  lost  in  the 
negotiation  of  this  illiberal  business. 

Our  adventurers  had  sight  of  the  western  islands  on  the  7th  of  March, 
1769,  and  came  to  an  anchor  at  Spithead  on  the  20th  of  the  same  month, 
without  meeting  with  anything  farther  worth  recording. 


MONS.  DE  BOUGAINVILLE.— 1766-69. 

A  SETTLEMENT  having  been  commenced  by  the  French  on  Falkland's 
Islands,  in  the  month  of  February,  1764,  the  Spaniards  demanded  them 
as  an  appendage  to  the  continent  of  South  America  ;  and  France  having 
allowed  the  propriety  of  the  demand.  Mens,  de  Bougainville  was  ordered 
to  yield  possession  of  the  islands  to  the  Spaniards. 

On  the  5th  of  December  he  sailed  from  the  harbour  of  Brest,  in  the 
frigate  La  Boudeuse  ;  having  on  board  the  Prince  of  Nassau  Seighen, 
three  gentlemen  who  went  as  volunteers,  eleven  officers  in  commission, 
and  warrant  officers,  seamen,  soldiers,  servants,  and  boys,  to  the  number 
of  200. 

On  the  evening  of  the  29th  of  January  they  had  sight  of  Rio-de-Ia- 
Plata,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  3Ist  came  to  an  anchor  in  the  Bay  of 
Montevideo,  where  the  two  Spanish  ships,  which  were  to  take  possession 
of  Falkland's  Islands,  had  been  at  anchor  for  some  weeks. 

They  went  on  shore  above  the  colony  of  San  Sacramento,  and  travelled 
over  a  prodigious  extent  of  country  to  Buenos  Ayres,  in  which  there 
were  no  roads,  and  where  the  eye  was  their  only  guide.  During  this 
expedition,  they  slept  in  little  hovels  constructed  with  leather,  while  the 
tigers  howled  round  them  on  every  side.  Mons.  Bougainville  particularly 
mentions  the  manner  and  the  danger  of  their  passing  the  River  St.  Lucia, 
which  is  wide  and  deep,  yet  amazingly  rapid  :  being  placed  in  a  long  nar- 
row canoe,  one  side  of  which  was  beyond  all  proportion  higher  than  the 
other,  a  horse  was  fastened  on  each  side  the  vessel,  the  master  of  which, 
pulling  oft"  all  his  clothes,  got  into  it,  and  supporting  the  heads  of  the 
horses  above  the  surface  of  the  stream,  drove  them  across  in  the  best 
manner  he  was  able,  and,  with  some  difficulty,  they  stemmed  the  rapidity 
of  the  torrent.  They  sailed  with  two  Spanish  ships  on  the  28th  of  Feb- 
ruary, J  767  ;  and,  on  the  Isf  of  April,  Mons.  Bougainville,  in  the  name 
of  tlie  French  king,  surrendered  the  islands  to  Don  Puente,  the  Spanish 
governor,  who  received  it  for  his  Most  Catholic  Majesty,  with  the  cere- 
mony of  hoisting  the  Spanish  colours,  and  the  firing  of  guns  from  the 
ships  and  on  shore. 

Falkland's  Islands  lie  in  about  52  degrees  south  latitude,  and  60  de- 
grees west  longitude.  From  the  entrance  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  and 
from  the  coast  of  Patagonia,  their  distance  is  about  250  miles.  The  har- 
bours are  large,  and  well  defended  by  small  islands,  most  happily  dis- 
posed ;  and  even  the  smallest  vessels  may  ride  in  safety  in  the  creeks, 
while  fresh  water  is  Cdsily  to  be  obtained,  as  the  small  rivers  which 
descend  from  the  mountains  discharge  themselves  into  the  sea.     In  the 


DE    BOUGAINVILLE*  209 

spring  and  autumn  there  are  slight  hoar  frosts,  which,  being  changed  to  a 
kind  of  dew  by  the  warmth  of  the  sun,  are  rather  favourable  than  pre- 
judicial to  the  vegetable  productions.  There  is  seldom  any  thunder  or 
lightning,  nor  is  the  climate  hot  or  cold  in  any  extraordinary  degree. 
Throughout  the  year  the  nights  are,  in  general,  starlight,  serene,  and 
fair ;  and,  upon  the  whole,  the  climate  is  favourable  to  the  constitution. 
The  depth  of  the  soil  in  the  valleys  is  more  than  suflkient  for  the  purposes 
of  plowing.  Under  the  first  land  is  a  layer  of  black  earth,  ten  inches  or 
more  in  depth ;  under  that  again  a  yellow  soil,  beneath  which  are  stones 
and  slate  ;  but  these  stones  are  not  found  on  the  little  adjacent  islands. 
Wild  vegetables  in  abundance  are  found,  and  used  as  antiscorbutics,  par- 
ticularly water  cresses,  sorrel,  wild  parsley,  a  kind  of  maiden-hair,  and  a 
species  of  celery.  '. 

Sea  lions  and  seals  are  the  only  amphibious  animals  found  in  these 
parts ;  but  there  are  great  varieties  of  fish  on  the  coasts,  scarce  any  of 
which  are  known  in  Europe.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the  whales, 
getting  too  near  the  shore,  are  stranded  in  the  bays,  where  their  remains 
have  been  seen.  The  only  quadruped  is  of  a  species  between  the  fox 
and  the  wolf,  and  our  author,  therefore,  calls  him  the  wolf-fox ;  the  tail 
of  this  animal  is  more  bushy  than  that  of  the  wolf,  and  he  lives  in  a  kennel 
which  he  digs  in  the  ground,  on  the  downs,  by  the  sea-aide.  At  one  time 
of  the  year  the  wolf-fox  is  so  lean  as  to  appear  almost  starved,  from 
whence  it  is  imagined  that  he  fasts  for  a  considerable  time  ;  he  is  about 
as  large  as  a  sheep  dog,  and  barks  very  much  like  one,  only  that  his 
yelp  is  not  so  loud.  The  coasts  produce  land  and  water  fowls  in  incre- 
dible numbers,  many  of  which  are  the  prey  of  falcons,  hawks,  eagles,  and 
owls  ;  while  the  eggs  and  the  young  birds  are  destroyed  by  the  wolf-fox. 
The  smaller  fish  are  destroyed  by  the  whales,  the  amphibious  animals, 
and  the  voracious  birds,  some  of  which  are  constantly  flying  close  over 
the  surface  of  the  waters,  while  others  perch  themselves  on  the  rocks  to 
watch  the  event. 

After  waiting  at  these  islands  till  the  2d  of  June,  1767,  in  expectation 
of  the  Etoile  store-ship  fiom  Europe,  and  finding  she  did  not  arrive,  Mons. 
Bougainville  considered,  that  as  his  vessel  had  only  two  months'  provi- 
sions on  board,  it  would  be  rashness  to  attempt  crossing  the  great  Pacific 
Ocean  alone  ;  he  therefore  resolved  to  steer  to  Rio  Janeiro,  at  which 
place  he  had  appointed  the  Etoile  to  join  him,  in  case  any  unforeseen  acci- 
dent should  prevent  her  reaching  Falkland's  Islands  before  he  left  the 
harbour  of  that  place.  They  had  fine  weather  from  the  2d  till  the  20th 
of  June,  on  which  day  they  had  sight  of  the  mountains  on  the  main  land 
of  Brazil,  and  entered  Rio  Janeiro  the  day  following. 

At  the  same  time  a  canoe  was  despatched  from  the  captain  of  the  Etoile, 
to  inform  Mons.  Bougainville  of  the  safe  arrival  of  that  vessel,  which  now 
lay  in  the  port ;  and,  on  the  14th  of  July,  1767,  the  anchors  of  the  Bou- 
deuse  and  Etoile  were  weighed  ;  but,  as  the  wind  abated  soon  afterward, 
they  were  obliged  again  to  bring-to,  before  they  could  get  out  of  the  har- 
bour. They  sailed,  however,  on  the  following  day  ;  and  in  the  night  of 
the  19th  the  main- top-sail  of  the  Boudeuse  was  carried  away  by  the 
violence  of  the  wind. 

The  vessels  sailed  into  the  Rio-de-la-Plata,  and  were  within  sight  of 
the  Maldonados  on  the  29th  ;  early  in  the  morning  of  the  31st  they  had 
a  view  of  the  Isle  of  Lobos,  and  before  night  came  to  an  anchor  in  the 
Bay  of  Montevideo.  As  it  was  necessary  that  Mons.  Bougainville  should 
remain  in  his  present  station  till  the  equinox  was  passed,  his  first  care 
A  18* 


210  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

was  to  build  an  hospital  for  the  sick,  and  to  take  lodgings  at  Montevideo. 
This  being  done,  he  repaired  to  Buenos  Ayres,  in  order  to  hasten  the 
provision  of  such  necessaries  as  he  wanted,  for  which  he  was  to  pay  the 
same  price  as  the  King  of  Spain  usually  gave  for  the  same  commodities. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  14th  of  November,  1767,  they  sailed  from 
Montevideo,  with  a  fine  gale  of  wind  at  north,  being  in  sight  of  land  till 
the  evening.  On  the  16th,  and  the  five  following  days,  the  sea  ran  high 
and  the  wind  was  contrary.  The  2d  of  December  they  had  sight  of  Cape 
Virgins,  about  which  time  they  made  all  the  sail  possible,  as  the  wind 
was  in  their  favour.  They  now  saw  a  number  of  albatrosses  and  petrels, 
the  last  of  which  Mons.  Bougainville  says  are  a  sign  of  bad  weather, 
whenever  they  are  seen. 

On  the  3d  of  December,  the  wind  blowing  favourable  for  a  short  time, 
they  made  their  best  efforts  to  reach  the  entrance  of  the  Straits  of  Magel- 
lan ;  and  Mons.  Bougainville  was  seven  weeks  and  three  days  in  passing 
through  it,  the  whole  length  of  which,  from  Cape  Virgin  Mary  to  Cape 
Pillar,  he  computes  at  about  340  miles. 

On  the  2 1st  of  March  a  tunny  fish  was  taken,  in  the  belly  of  which 
were  a  number  of  small  fish,  of  such  kinds  as  are  known  not  to  swim  far 
ought  to  sea  ;  whence  it  was  concluded,  that  land  could  not  be  at  any 
great  distance  ;  and  on  the  following  day  this  conjecture  appeared  to 
well  founded,  for  four  very  small  islands  were  then  discovered  ;  but  as 
these  were  too  much  to  windward,  they  held  on  their  way,  steering  for 
another  island,  which  was  almost  right  ahead.  As  the  vessels  advanced 
toward  the  latter,  it  was  observed  to  abound  with  cocoa  nut  trees  ;  these 
grew  on  plats  of  grass,  strewed  with  an  abundance  of  beautiful  flowers ; 
and  the  rest  of  the  island  was  clothed  with  trees  of  various  kinds  ;  but 
the  sea  running  high,  and  no  harbour  being  di.';covered  in  which  our 
voyagers  might  hope  for  protection  from  the  fury  of  its  waves,  they  were 
prevented  from  landing ;  when  they  had  coasted  the  island  for  about  two 
miles,  they  had  sight  of  three  men,  who  advanced  hastily  toward  the 
shore.  They  at  first  imagined  that  these  were  part  of  the  crew  of  some 
European  ship,  whicli  had  been  wrecked  on  the  coast ;  and,  impressed 
with  this  idea,  were  desirous  to  give  the  wished-for  relief;  but  discovered 
their  conjecture  ill  founded,  for  the  people  retired  to  the  woods,  from 
whence,  in  a  short  time,  issued  a  number  of  them,  supposed  to  be  near 
twenty,  with  long  staves  in  their  hands,  which  they  held  up  with  an  air 
of  defiance.  This  done,  they  retreated  to  the  woods,  in  which,  by  the 
help  of  glasses,  their  habitations  were  plainly  seen.  These  islanders 
were  of  a  copper  complexion,  and  very  tall. 

During  the  night  between  the  22d  and  23d  they  had  much  rain,  ac- 
compp-nied  with  violent  thunder,  while  the  wind  blew  almost  a  tempest. 
At  daydawn  land  was  discovered,  which  appeared  to  be  a  regular  level, 
sufficiently  clothed  with  verdure.  Night  advanced  before  any  proper 
place  was  found  for  the  boats  to  land,  nor  were  they  more  successful  in 
the  morning ;  wherefore  they  held  on  their  course,  Mons.  Bougainville 
having  called  the  place  Harp  Island.  In  the  evening  on  which  it  was 
discovered,  they  had  sight  of  other  land,  at  the  distance  of  something 
more  than  twenty  miles,  which  had  the  appearance  of  being,  what  it  after- 
ward was  found  to  be,  a  cluster  of  islands,  eleven  of  which  were  seen, 
and  received  the  name  of  the  Dangerous  Archipelago. 

A  steep  mountain,  which  appeared  to  be  encompassed  by  the  sea,  was 
discovered  on  the  2d  of  April,  and  received  the  name  of  the  Boudoir,  or 
Boudeuse  Peak,  from  that  of  Mons.  Bougainville's  ship.     Bearing  to  the 


DE  BOUGAINVILLE.  .  ^29^ 

northward  of  this  peak,  they  had  sight  of  land,  which  extended  farther 
than  the  eye  could  reach. 

While  standing  toward  the  land,  a  boat  was  seen  coming  from  the 
offing,  which  soon  afterward  crossed  ahead  of  the  ship  and  joined  a 
number  of  other  boats,  which  had  assembled  from  various  parts  of  the 
island.  This  assemblage  of  boats  was  preceded  by  one  which  was  rowed 
by  twelve  Indians,  quite  naked,  who  advanced  toward  the  side  of  the 
ship,  and  held  up  some  boughs  of  the  banana  tree. 

In  a  short  time  upward  of  100  boats  surrounded  the  ships,  laden  with 
bananas,  cocoa  nuts,  and  various  other  kinds  of  fruit,  receiving  in  exchange 
a  number  of  toys.  In  order  to  carry  on  this  traffic,  the  voyagers  held  up 
such  articles  as  they  meant  to  give  for  the  fruit,  and  when  the  natives 
were  satisfied  with  the  quantity  offered,  it  was  let  down  by  the  ship's 
side  in  a  net  or  basket,  and  the  Indians  having  taken  it  out,  returned 
their  commodities  by  the  same  conveyance  ;  but  sometimes  the  basket 
was  lowered  empty,  and  the  natives  put  their  effects  in  it  before  they  had 
received  the  European  goods,  without  seeming  to  harbour  the  least  dis- 
trust or  jealousy  of  those  with  whom  they  dealt. 

As  Mons.  Bougainville  coasted  the  island,  he  was  charmed  with  tho 
appearance  of  a  noble  cascade,  which,  falling  immediately  from  the  sum- 
.  mit  of  a  mountain  into  the  sea,  produced  a  most  elegant  effect.  On  the 
shores,  very  near  to  the  fall  of  this  cascade,  was  a  little  town,  and  the 
coast  appeared  to  be  free  from  breakers.  It  was  the  wish  of  our  adven- 
turers to  have  cast  their  anchor  within  view  of  such  an  enchanting  pros- 
pect ;  but,  after  repeated  soundings,  they  found  that  the  bottom  consisted 
only  of  rocks,  and  they  were,  therefore,  under  a  necessity  of  seeking 
another  anchoring  place  ;  and  returned  to  the  bay  observed  on  first  dis- 
covering land,  where  he  hoped  to  find  a  convenient  anchoring  place,  and 
where,  after  different  soundings,  the  ships  were  at  length  safely  moored. 

The  natives  now  put  off  in  their  boats,  and  surrounded  the  ships  in 
greater  numbers  than  they  had  yet  done,  exhibiting  many  tokens  of  regard, 
and  perpetually  crying  out  Taio,  which  was  afterward  found  to  signify 
friend.  The  strangers  were  much  pleased  with  some  nails  and  toys  which 
the  officers  and  sailors  gave  them.  These  boats  were  crowded  with 
women,  whose  beauty  of  face  was  at  least  equal  to  that  of  the  ladies  of 
Europe,  and  their  symmetry  of  bodv  much  superior. 

The  commodore  and  some  of  his  officers  now  went  on  shore  to  take  a 
view  of  the  watering  place,  and  were  no  sooner  landed,  than  the  natives 
flocked  around  in  prodigious  numbers,  regarding  them  with  looks  of  in- 
expressible curiosity  ;  some  bolder  than  the  rest,  came  and  touched  the 
French,  and  put  aside  their  clothes,  to  find  if  they  were  formed  like  them- 
selves. A  person,  who  appeared  to  be  of  authority,  took  Mons.  Bougain- 
ville's party  to  his  house,  where  they  found  an  old'  man,  the  father  of  the 
chief,  and  several  women.  These  last  paid  their  compliments  to  the 
strangers  by  placing  their  hands  on  their  breasts,  and  frequently  repeat- 
ing the  word  Taw.  The  old  man  was  a  truly  venerable  figure,  whose 
long  white  beard  and  hair  added  dignity  to  his  person,  which  was  ex- 
ceedingly graceful  and  well  formed.  He  had  none  of  the  decrepitude  of 
age,  no  wrinkles  on  his  face,  and  his  body  was  nervous  and  fleshy. 

The  house  of  the  chief  was  about  twenty  feet  in  width,  eighty  in  length, 
and  covered  with  thatch,  from  which  hn;ig  a  cylinder,  above  a  yard  long, 
formed  of  the  twigs  of  the  ozier,  and  adorned  with  black  feathers.  Having 
directed  his  guests  to  seat  themselves  on  a  grass-plot  in  front  of  his  house, 
he  presented  them  with  a  collation,  consisting  of  broiled  fish,  water,  and 


Sl^  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

fruit.  While  regaling  themselves  he  produced  two  collars,  formed  of 
oziers,  and  adorned  with  shark's  teeth  and  black  feathers.  These  col- 
lars, which  resembled  the  prodigious  large  ruffs  worn  by  the  French  in 
the  reign  of  Francis  I.,  were  put  on  the  necks  of  Mons.  Bougainville  and 
a  gentleman  of  his  party.  The  chief  having  likewise  presented  our  author 
with  some  pieces  of  cloth,  the  French  were  about  to  take  their  leave  of 
this  hospitable  Indian,  when  one  of  them  found  that  his  pocket  had  been 
picked  of  his  pistol ;  on  which  a  complaint  was  made  to  the  chief,  who 
immediately  reprimanded  several  of  his  household,  and  would  have 
searched  them  all ;  but  this  the  commodore  wouhl  not  permit,  contenting 
himself  with  intimating  to  the  chief,  that  the  weapon  which  had  beeui 
stolen  would  kill  the  thief 

The  chief  went  on  board  Mons.  Bougainville's  ship  the  following  day, 
and  took  with  him  a  present  of  some  fowls  and  a  hog  ;  he  likewise  gave 
a  full  proof  of  the  integrity  of  his  heart,  by  returning  the  stolen  pistol. 
His  name  it  appeared  was  Ereti ;  he  remained  on  board  several  hours,  and 
then  went  on  shore  with  Mons.  Bougainville,  who  by  this  time  had  made  the 
necessary  preparations  for  landing  the  sick  and  filling  the  water  casks. 
Ereti  complimented  Mons.  Bougainville  with  the  use  of  a  large  build- 
ing, erected  on  the  side  of  the  rivulet  for  the  purpose  of  laying  up  the 
Indian  boats,  which  were,  at  the  command  of  the  chief,  instantly  removed. 
Under  this  roof  tents  were  put  up  for  the  accommodation  of  the  sick,  and 
other  tents  for  various  uses.  A  sufficient  number  of  muskets  were  carried 
on  shore  to  arm  thirty  marines,  all  the  workmen,  and  even  the  invalids, 
in  case  of  necessity.  Mons.  Bougainville  passed  the  first  night  on  shore 
in  company  with  Ereti,  who  added  his  supper  to  that  of  the  commodore, 
invited  a  few  select  friends  to  partake  of  the  repast,  and  gave  orders  that 
a  crowd  of  Indians,  whose  curiosity  had  brought  them  to  the  spot,  should 
be  dispersed.  He  then  desired  to  see  some  tire-works,  which  he  beheld 
with  a  mixture  of  pleasure  and  astonishment. 

The  camp  was  completed  on  the  following  day,  and  the  building  entire- 
ly  enclosed,  except  at  one  entrance,  where  a  guard  was  constantly 
stationed.  None  of  the  Indians  were  admitted  into  this  building  but 
Ereti  and  his  friends  of  both  sexes.  A  crowd  of  people  were  constant- 
ly about  the  place,  but  they  made  way  for  any  one  who  had  permission 
to  enter,  on  the  motion  of  a  small  stick  which  a  Frenchman  held  in  his 
hand.  To  this  place  the  natives  assembled  from  all  quarters,  bringing 
poultry,  hogs,  fish,  fruit,  and  cloth  ;  in  exchange  for  which  they  received 
buttons,  beads,  tools,  nails,  and  trinkets  of  various  kinds,  on  which  they 
appeared  to  set  a  high  value. 

The  article  of  thieving  excepted,  every  other  intercourse  between  the 
French  and  Indians  was  carried  on  in  the  most  harmonious  manner.  The 
seamen  made  several  incursions  into  the  island,  unarmed,  sometimes  in 
small  parties,  and  sometimes  singly  ;  when  the  natives  invited  them  into 
their  houses,  gave  them  provisions,  and  presented  the  young  damsels  as 
wives. 

Soon  after  the  camp  was  formed,  the  commodore  was  visited  on  board 
the  ship  by  Toutaa,  the  chief  of  a  district  near  that  of  Ereti,  a  very  tall 
man,  and  admirably  well  made,  who  was  attended  by  several  others,  hard- 
ly one  of  whom  was  less  than  six  feet  in  height.  Toutaa  brought  with 
him  cloth,  hogs,  fowls,  and  fruit,  which  he  presented  to  Mons.  Bougain 
ville,  who  complimented  him  with  some  silk  stuffs,  trinkets,  nails,  &c. 
The  chief  invited  Bougainville  to  his  house,  where,  in  the  midst  of  a  large 
assembly,  he  presented  him  with  a  fine  young  girl,  whom  the  commodore 


DE  BOUGAINVILLE.  213 

conjectures  to  have  been  one  of  his  wives,  and  the  musicians  instantly 
began  the  bridal  hymn. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  12th,  the  cable  of  the  Boudeuse  parting, 
that  ship  ran  foul  of  the  Etoile,  and  at  this  unfortunate  juncture  news 
arrived  that  three  of  the  Indians  had  been  either  killed  or  wounded  in  their 
huts  ;  and  that,  in  consequence  of  this  unhappy  circumstance,  a  general 
terror  had  seized  the  inhabitants.  The  women,  children,  and  old  men, 
had  fled  up  the  country,  taking  their  effects  with  them,  and  even  carry- 
ing off  the  bodies  of  the  deceased.  The  commodore,  on  receiving  this 
intelligence,  went  on  shore,  and  selecting  four  marines,  on  whom  rested 
the  suspicion  of  having  perpetrated  this  foul  deed,  he  ordered  them  to  be 
put  into  irons  in  the  presence  of  Ereti  ;  but  apprehensive  that  the  natives 
might  revenge  their  injuries,  he  spent  a  considerable  part  of  the  night  at 
the  camp,  and  gave  orders  for  a  reinforcement  of  the  guards.  After  ten 
at  night  the  wind  blew  violently,  the  sea  swelled  to  an  enormous  height, 
the  rain  descended  in  torrents,  and  the  whole  scene  was  tempestuous  in 
a  high  degree.  He  went  on  board  soon  after  midnight,  when  a  violent 
squall  of  wind  was  driving  the  ships  toward  the  shore.  Providentially  the 
storm  was  soon  over,  and  a  breeze  from  the  shore  prevented  the  vessels 
being  stranded. 

Soon  after  daylight  it  was  observed  that  the  camp  was  totally  destitute 
of  its  usual  visiters  ;  not  an  Indian  was  to  be  seen  near  it,  nor  even  a 
single  boat  sailing  on  the  river.  The  natives  had  quitted  their  houses, 
and  the  whole  country  appeared  to  be  depopulated.  The  Prince  of  Nas- 
sau now  went  on  shore  with  a  small  party,  and,  at  about  three  miles  from 
the  camp,  found  Ereti,  with  a  considerable  number  of  his  subjects.  When 
the  chief  recollected  the  prince,  he  advanced  toward  him  with  a  counte- 
nance expressive  of  hope  and  terror.  Many  women  were  now  with  him, 
who,  dropping  on  their  knees  at  the  feet  of  the  prince,  kissed  his  hands, 
and,  bathed  in  tears,  exclaimed,  Taio  male  !  You  are  our  friends,  and 
you  kill  us  ! 

The  prince  succeeded  in  his  endeavours  to  inspire  them  with  fresh 
confidence  ;  and  Mons.  Bougainville  had  the  pleasure  of  observing,  from 
on  board,  by  the  help  of  his  glasses,  that  the  natives  hastened  to  the 
camp,  carrying  with  them  fowls,  fruits,  &c.,  so  that  there  could  be  no 
doubt  but  that  peace  was  re-established.  He  instantly  left  the  ship,  and 
taking  with  him  a  quantity  of  silk  stuffs  and  a  variety  of  other  articles, 
he  presented  them  to  the  principal  persons,  intimating  how  unhappy  he 
was  on  account  of  the  misfortune  which  had  happened,  and  assuring  them, 
that  the  perpetrators  of  so  foul  a  deed  should  not  escape  unpunished. 
The  grateful  Indians  caressed  the  commodore,  the  natives  in  general  were 
happy  that  peace  was  restored,  and  the  market  soon  became  more  crowd- 
ed than  ever  ;  so  that  in  two  days  only  more  refreshments  were  brought 
in  than  had  been  before,  and  the  whole  place  had  the  appearance  of  a  fair. 
The  Indians  now  requested  to  see  some  muskets  fired,  but  were  not  a 
little  alarmed,  when  they  found  that  the  animals  fired  at  were  instantly 
killed. 

Soon  after  dawn  on  the  15th,  when  the  Indians  observed  their  visiters 
making  preparations  for  their  departure,  Ereti  came  hastily  on  board  in 
the  first  boat  that  was  ready.  He  clasped  in  his  arms,  embraced,  and 
wept  over  those  new-made  acquaintances  whom  he  was  about  to  part  with 
for  ever.  This  scene  was  scarcely  ended,  when  a  larger  boat,  in  which 
were  the  wives  of  this  generous  chief,  came  alongside  the  ship,  laden  with 
•  variety  of  refreshments.     This  vessel  likewise  brought  off  the  Indiau 


214  VOYAGES  ROUND  THIJ  WORLD. 

who,  on  their  first  arrival,  had  slept  on  board  the  Etoile.  This  man  was 
called  Aotourou.  Ereti  presented  him  to  Mons.  Bougainville,  intimating 
his  determined  resolution  to  sail  with  the  strangers,  and  entreating  per- 
mission that  he  might  do  so.  This  request  being  complied  with,  Ereti 
presented  him  to  the  officers  respectively,  saying,  that  he  trusted  a  well- 
beloved  friend  to  the  care  and  protection  of  friends  equally  beloved.  The 
chief,  having  accepted  some  presents,  returned  to  the  boat,  in  which  were 
a  number  of  weeping  beauties.  With  him  went  Aotourou,  to  take  a 
melancholy  leave  of  a  lovely  damsel,  the  dear  object  of  his  regard.  He 
took  three  pearls  from  his  ears,  which  he  delivered  as  a  love-token  to  the 
desponding  beauty  ;  embraced  her  affectionately,  tore  himself  from  her 
arms,  and  left  it  to  time  and  tears  to  restore  her  serenity  of  mind. 

Otaheite  produces  rich  pearls,  which  are  worn  by  the  women  and  chil- 
dren ;  but  these  were  secreted  almost  as  soon  as  the  French  landed,  and 
were  seen  no  more  during  their  stay.  A  sort  of  castanets,  instruments 
used  by  the  Indian  dancers,  are  formed  out  of  the  shells  of  the  pearl  oys- 
ters. The  only  quadrupeds  seen  on  the  island  were  hogs,  small  but 
handsome  dogs,  and  rats.  Of  winged  animals  there  are  parroquets  of 
exquisite  beauty,  the  feathers  of  which  are  red  and  blue,  most  happily 
blended  ;  pigeons,  rather  larger  than  ours,  of  a  deep  blue  colour,  and  most 
delicate  taste  ;  and  common  domestic  poultry,  differing  in  no  respect  from 
those  of  Europe.  The  hogs  and  fowls  feed  on  plantains  only,  so  that  the 
purity  of  their  food  must  ensure  the  goodness  of  their  meat.  Bougam- 
ville  obtained,  by  his  traffic  with  the  natives,  about  140  hogs  and  more 
than  800  fowls  ;  and  he  might  have  procured  much  larger  numbers,  if  his 
stay  had  been  longer.  No  venomous  animals  were  seen  on  this  island, 
nor  any  of  those  noxious  insects  which  are  common  to,  and  are  the  great- 
est Curse  of,  hot  climates. 

The  natives  are  of  two  distinct  tribes,  having  no  personal  resemblance, 
yet  practising  the  same  customs,  associating  together  in  the  most'friendly 
manner,  and  conversing  in  the  same  dialect.  The  first  race  of  these 
people  are  much  taller,  larger,  and  better  proportioned  than  the  other. 
Few  of  these  are  less  than  six  feet  high.  The  other  tribe  are  about  the 
middle  stature,  have  almost  the  features  and  complexion  of  mulattoes, 
and  rough,  curled  hair,  as  strong  as  the  bristles  of  a  hog.  Aotourou  was 
of  this  tribe,  and  the  son  of  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  island.  Both  tribes 
shave  the.upper  part  of  the  face,  permitting  the  beard  on  the  chin  to  grow, 
and  a  whisker  on  each  lip.  Some  bind  the  hair  on  the  top  of  the  head, 
while  others  cut  it  short,  but  all  rub  the  oil  of  the  cocoa  nut  into  the  hair 
and  beard.  They  permit  all  their  nails  to  grow  to  a  great  length;  except 
that  of  the  middle  finger  of  the  right  hand.  Among  these  people  one 
cripple  only  was  seen  ;  and  it  was  supposed  that  he  got  his  hurt  by  a  fall. 

When  an  inhabitant  of  Otaheite  dies,  his  body  is  deposited  on  a  kind 
of  bier,  placed  under  a  shed,  to  which  the  women  resort  daily,  and  anoint 
the  corpse  with  the  oil  of  the  cocoa  nut.  In  these  places  they  are  left 
till  all  the  flesh  is  wasted  from  the  bones,  and  then  the  skeleton  is  con- 
veyed to  the  hut  of  his  relations,  where  a  person,  who  appears  to  have 
great  authority,  attends,  and  being  dressed  in  a  habit  peculiar  to  the  oc- 
casion, he  performs  some  solemn  ceremonies  :  but  how  long  the  skeletons 
are  kept  in  the  houses  does  not  appear.  Bougainville  endeavoured  to 
learn  of  Aotourou  the  religious  ceremonies  of  his  countrymen  ;  and  if 
they  mutuaUy  understood  each  other,  it  will  appear  that  the  people  of 
Otaheite  are  superstitious  in  a  high  degree  ;  that  the  supreme  authority 
is  vested  in  the  priests  ;  that  their  principal  Deity  is  called  Ebi-t-Era, 


DE  BOUGAINVILLE.  215 

that  is,  King  of  Light,  or  of  the  Sun ;  besides  whom  they  acknov.-ledge 
a  number  of  inferior  divinities,  some  of  whom  produce  evil,  and  others 
good  ;  that  the  general  name  of  these  ministering  spirits  is  Eatoua  ;  ani 
that  the  natives  suppose  two  of  these  divinities  attend  each  affair  of  con 
sequence  in  human  Ufe,  determining  its  fate  either  advantageously  o« 
otherwise. 

The  principal  people  on  the  island  appear  to  have  many  wives  ;  and  ou. 
authors  thinks  polygamy  is  common  among  them  all.  The  rich  are  chief 
ly  distinguished  from  the  poor  by  keeping  a  greater  number  of  the  fail 
sex  ;  for  universal  love  is  the  characteristic  of  the  inhabitants  of  Otaheite. 
Otaheitans  are  ingenious  in  the  construction  of  their  fishing  tackle,  the 
hooks  of  which  are  of  mother-of-pearl,  and  wrought  as  nicely  as  if  with 
European  tools.  With  threads  drawn  frorn  the  American  aloe  they 
form  their  nets,  which  are  made  like  those  of  France  and  other  nations 
of  Europe.  Their  houses,  too,  are  exceedingly  well  built,  and  the  palm 
leaves,  with  which  they  are  thatched,  are  laid  on  with  great  skill  and 
taste.  Their  boats  are  of  two  kinds  ;  one  very  large,  hollowed  out  of 
huge  frees,  and  finished  with  much  taste,  parts  of  other  trees  being 
added  as  ornaments  ;  the  other  smnll,  and  of  much  ruder  construction. 
In  order  to  go  from  one  island  to  another,  they  fix  beams  of  wood  from  the 
starboard  side  of  one  vessel  to  the  larboard  of  the  other,  leaving  an  inter- 
mediate space  of  something  more  than  a  yard  ;  and  over  the  stern  of  both 
the  boats  they  erect  a  kind  of  hut,  lightly  built,  and  covered  with  reeds, 
which  serves  as  a  repository  for  their  provisions,  and  a  shelter  against 
the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  The  boats  thus  lashed  together  never 
overset,  and  are,  therefore,  much  in  use  among  the  people  of  superior 
rank  ;  the  sails  of  these  vessels  are  nearly  square,  and  consist  of  mats, 
stretched  out  by  means  of  pieces  of  cane. 

Aotourou  informed  the  commodore,  that  an  English  ship  had  arrived 
at  Otaheite  about  eight  months  before  the  French  touched  at  that  island. 
This  was  the  vessel  commanded  by  Captain  WaUis  ;  and  he  ascribes  the 
knowledge  of  iron,  which  was  observed  among  the  natives,  to  this  visit 
of  the  English,  especially  as  they  call  it  Aouri,  which  is  not  very  unlike 
our  word  iron.  Mons.  Bougainville  now  departed  from  Otaheite,  and  on 
the  morning  of  the  ICth  of  April,  1768,  discovered  what  he  thought  to 
be  three  other  islands,  but  it  was  afterward  found  to  be  only  one.  In 
the  beginning  of  May  three  islands  were  discovered  at  the  distance  of 
ten  or  twelve  leagues  to  the  north-west.  The  commodore  had  given 
directions  to  steer  between  them,  when  a  boat,  with  five  Indians,  was 
observed  coming  off  toward  the  ship.  She  advanced  very  near,  but, 
though  every  sign  of  friendly  invitation  was  made,  not  one  of  them  would 
venture  on  board.  They  had  no  kind  of  clothing  but  a  bandage  round 
the  waist ;  and  as  they  could  not  be  prevailed  on  to  come  up  the  ship's 
side,  Aotourou  stripped  himself,  leaving  on  nothing  more  than  what  they 
wore,  and  addressed  them  in  the  language  of  Otaheite  ;  but  they  under- 
stood not  a  word  of  what  he  said.  On  the  morning  of  the  5th  they  dis- 
covered a  most  beautiful  island,  consisting  of  alternate  mountains  and 
valleys,  clothed  with  the  richest  verdure,  and  finely  shadowed  by  the 
spreading  branches  of  the  cocoa  nut  and  a  variety  of  other  trees.  Near 
the  westernmost  point  of  this  island  is  a  ledge  of  rocks,  and  the  sea  breaks 
With  violence  on  many  parts  of  the  coast,  so  that  it  would  be  difficult  to 
land,  except  hi  very  few  places.  On  the  following  day  another  island 
was  seen  to  the  westward  of  the  ship's  course,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
which  were  two  smaller  islands;  to  these  islands  the  commodore  gave  the 


216  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

general  name  of  Archipelago  of  the  Navigators.  On  the  morning  of  the 
11th  another  island  was  discovered,  which  received  .the  name  of  the 
Forlorn  Hope  ;  but  for  what  reason  does  not  appear. 

The  ships  now  steered  a  westerly  course,  and  early  on  the  morning  of 
the  22d  two  islands  were  discovered,  one  of  which  received  the  name 
of  Aurora,  from  the  early  hour  on  which  it  was  first  seen,  and  the  other 
that  of  Whitsuntide  Isle,  from  the  day  which  gave  birth  to  its  being  so 
named.  In  the  afternoon  mountainous  lands,  at  thirty  miles  distance, 
were  seen,  appearing,  as  it  were,  over  and  beyond  the  Island  of  Aurora. 
On  the  23d  it  was  discovered  that  this  was  a  separate  island  ;  the  ap- 
pearance being  lofty,  its  descent  steep,  and  the  whole  clothed  with  trees. 
Bougainville  gives  the  following  description  of  the  natives  of  this  island, 
which  he  called  the  Island  of  Lepers,  from  observing,  that  many  of  the 
inhabitants  were  afflicted  with  the  leprosy  :  Some  of  them  are  mulattoes, 
and  others  perfect  negroes  ;  their  hair  woolly,  and  generally  black,  but  in 
some  instances  of  a  very  light  brown,  approaching  to  a  yellow.  Few 
women  were  seen  among  them,  but  those  few  were  equally  disagreeable 
with  the  men,  who  are  represented  as  low  in  stature,  ill-favoured,  and 
disproportionably  made. 

On  the  23d  more  land  was  discovered,  which,  on  the  25th,  was  observed 
to  enclose  almost  all  the  horizon,  so  that  the  ships  were  surrounded  in 
one  extensive  gulf,  while  the  coast  of  the  newly  discovered  country 
contained  many  other  gulfs,  or  large  inlets,  across  which  several  boats 
were  observed  rowing,  from  one  shore  to  the  other.  The  night  of  the 
25th  was  spent  in  tacking ;  the  number  of  isles  now  seen  was  so  great 
that  they  could  not  be  counted,  nor  could  their  termination  be  discerned. 

On  the  morning  of  the  27t1i  they  again  sailed,  and  in  a  few  hours  had 
sight  of  a  fine  plantation  of  trees,  between  which  there  were  regular 
walks,  resembling  those  of  an  European  garden.  Many  of  the  natives 
were  seen  near  this  spot,  and  as  an  inlet  was  observed  at  no  small  dis- 
tance, the  commodore  ordered  the  boats  to  be  hoisted  out ;  but  they  found 
that  it  was  impracticable  to  land.  They  now  quitted  this  great  cluster 
of  islands,  which  received  the  general  name  of  Archipelago  of  the  great 
Cyclades,  which,  it  is  conjectured,  occupies  no  less  than  three  degrees 
of  latitude,  and  five  of  longitude.  Mons.  Bougainville  says,  that  these 
islands  are  not  the  same  that  Quiros  called  Tierra  Austral  del  Espiritu 
Santo  ;  but  that  Roggewein  saw  the  northern  extremity  of  them,  which 
he  denominated  Groningen  and  Thienhoven. 

On  the  night  between  the  4th  and  5th  of  June  some  breakers  were 
seen,  at  half  a  league's  distance,  by  the  light  of  the  moon.  In  the  morn- 
ing it  appeared  to  be  a  low,  flat,  sandy  isle,  abounding  in  birds,  which  re- 
ceived the  name  of  the  Shoal  of  Diana.  A  sand-bank  was  discovered  on 
the  6th,  on  which  the  sea  broke  violently,  and  the  tops  of  rocks  were  seen 
at  intermediate  spaces.  On  the  10th,  before  daybreak,  an  agreeable  fra- 
grancy  impregnated  the  air,  announcing  that  land  was  near ;  and  it  was 
accordingly  discovered  before  sunrise.  This  is  described  as  a  most 
delicious  country,  divided  near  the  sea-coast  into  groves  and  plains, 
behind  which  the  land  rises,  in  the  form  of  an  amphitheatre,  till  the  tops 
of  the  mountains  are  lost  in  the  clouds. 

On  the  18th  not  less  than  nine  or  ten  islands  were  discovered,  and  on 
the  20th  a  still  greater  number.  On  the  25th  high  land  was  discovered, 
which  appeared  to  terminate  m  a  cape,  which  they  doubled  with  a  degree 
of  transport  that  may  be  more  easily  conceived  than  described,  as  it  was 
the  point  they  had  wished  for  a  sight  of,  from  a  certainty  that  it  would 


DE  BOUGAINVILLE.  217 

enable  them  to  quit  for  ever  the  Archipelago  of  islands,  amid  which 
they  had  been  so  long  in  hourly  danger  of  shipwreck  or  starving.  This 
cape  was  called  Cape  Deliverance,  and  the  name  of  the  gulf  of  the 
Louisiade  was  given  to  a  bay,  of  which  the  cape  forms  the  easternmost  point. 

July  the  2d  a  cape  was  discovered,  which  was  called  Cape  I'Averdi, 
on  which  were  mountains  of  an  astonishing  height.  On  the  4th  other 
mountainous  land  was  discovered,  from  which  came  off  five  or  six  In- 
dians, and,  after  lying  on  their  oars  some  time,  accepted  some  trifles  which 
were  thrown  to  them,  exhibiting  some  cocoa  nuts,  saying,  bouca,  houca^ 
onelle  !  and  seemed  greatly  pleased  when  the  French  repeated  them. 
They  then  intimated  that  they  would  fetch  some  cocoa  nuts,  but  they  had 
scarcely  left  the  ship's  side,  when  one  of  them  discharged  an  arrow,  by 
which,  however,  no  person  was  wounded. 

Two  more  islands  were  seen  on  the  5th,  and,  as  the  wood  and  water 
were  expended,  and  disease  reigning  aboard,  the  commodore  resolved  to 
land  here,  and  on  the  following  afternoon  the  ships  came  to  an  anchor. 

Two  huts  were  discovered  on  the  bank  of  a  rivulet,  not  far  from  the 
encampment,  and  a  boat,  near  which  were  seen  the  remains  of  fires,  some 
calcined  shells,  and  the  skeletons  of  some  animals'  heads,  which  were 
taken  for  those  of  the  wild  boar.  Some  fresh  bananas  were  found,  which 
proves  that  the  natives  had  but  lately  left  the  place.  An  extraordinary 
incident  occurred.  A  seaman,  looking  for  shells,  found  a  plate  of  lead 
buried  in  the  sand,  on  which  the  following  letters  were  very  visible : 

HOR'D  HERE 
ICK  MAJESTY'S 

The  mark  of  the  nails  with  which  the  lead  had  been  fastened  appeared ; 
and  It  IS  plam,  that  the  natives  must  have  torn  off  the  plate  and  broken  it. 
This  gave  rise  to  a  diligent  search,  and,  at  about  six  miles  from  the  watering 
place,  the  very  spot  was  found  where  some  Enghsh  ship  had  been  before. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  24th  a  favourable  breeze  enabled  the  ships  to 
get  out  to  sea.  Bougainville  remarks,  that  this  country  must  be  New 
Britain,  and  that  the  great  bay  must  be  the  same  which  Dampier  calls 
St.  George's  Bay ;  but  that  he  had  the  happiness  to  land  on  a  part  of  it 
where  his  wants  could  be  supplied  by  the  inhabitants. 

On  the  3l8t  a  number  of  Indian  boats  attacked  the  Etoile  with  a  volley 
of  stones  and  arrows  ;  but  a  single  discharge  of  the  musketry  got  rid  of 
these  troublesome  companions.  On  the  4th  of  August  two  islands  were 
seen,  which  are  conjectured  to  be  the  same  which  Dampier  distinguishes 
by  the  names  of  Matthias  and  Stormy,  or  Squally  Island.  On  the  5th  a 
third  island  was  seen,  and  then  the  northern  point  of  New  Britain,  which 
lies  only  41  minutes  south  of  the  land.  On  the  7ih  a  flat  island  was  seen, 
covered  with  trees,  abounding  with  cocoa  nuts,  and  certainly  well  inhabited, 
as  appeared  from  the  great  number  of  houses  that  were  seen  on  the  shore! 
l-ishing  boats  m  multitudes  surrounding  the  island;  but  the  fishermen 
took  no  notice  of  the  ships.  This  received  the  name  of  the  Island  of 
Anchorets.  From  this  lime  till  the  end  of  the  month  innumerable  small 
islands  were  observed  every  day  ;  the  boat  having  landed  on  two  islands, 
which  neither  produced  any  fruits,  nor  appeared  to  be  cultivated,  and  in- 
dicated no  signs  of  being  inhabited,  the  ship  was  on  the  point  of  return- 
ing, when  an  Indian  rowed  up  to  the  ship's  boat,  without  expressing  the 
^ast  sign  of  fear  or  astonishment.  The  Frenchmen  intimated,  that  they 
wanted  food  and  liquor  ;  on  which  he  presented  them  with  a  kind  of  meal 
and  some  water;  m  return  for  which  they  gave  him  a  looking-glass,  a 


218  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

handkerchief,  and  some  other  trifles,  which  he  received  with  indifference, 
and  'anghed  at  the  donors.  It  was  conjectured  that  this  negro  had  de- 
serted from  one  of  the  adjacent  islands  which  have  been  settled  by  the 
Dutch.  Tli€  number  of  them  were  formerly  seven,  but  they  are  novv 
reduced  to  five  by  earthquakes.  The  crew  of  the  Boudeuse  took  a  turtle 
on  this  sp&t  of  not  less  than  200  weight. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  31st  our  voyagers  had  sight  of  the  Island 
of  ('eram,  which  runs  in  a  parallel  east  and  west,  abounds  in  lofty  moun- 
tains, and  is  panly  cleared  and  partly  in  its  original  state.  At  midnight 
a  number  of  fires  attracted  their  attention  to  the  Island  of  Boero,  where 
there  is  a  Dutch  factory,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Gulf  of  Cajeli,  which 
the  French  had  sight  of  at  daybreak.  Their  joy  on  this  occasion  is  not 
to  be  expressed  ;  for  at  this  time  not  half  of  the  seamen  were  able  to  per- 
form any  duty,  and  the  scurvy  had  raged  so  violently,  that  no  man  on 
board  wa»  perfectly  clear  of  it.  What  few  provisions  were  on  board  were 
absolutely  rotten,  and  stunk  intolerably. 

The  astonishment  of  Aotourou,  at  this  first  sight  of  an  European  set- 
tlement, may  be  more  easily  conceived  than  described.  He  regarded 
every  object  with  an  intenseness  of  curiosity  scarcely  to  be  satisfied  ; 
but  he  was  particularly  charmed  with  the  hospitality  of  tlie  Dutch.  He 
supposed  everything  freely  given,  as  he  did  not  see  anything  returned  by 
way  of  barter.  Bougainville  says,  he  behaved  sensibly  with  respect  to 
the  Dutch,  to  whom  he  intimated  of  the  consequence  he  was  in  his  own 
country,  and  that  his  present  voyage  was  merely  pleasurable,  with  friends 
whom  he  esteemed.  His  constant  practice  was  to  imitate  the  manners 
of  the  French,  both  in  their  visits  and  rural  amusements.  The  knees  of 
this  Indian  being  distorted,  he  attributed  to  that  circumstance  his  not 
being  taken  with  the  commodore  on  his  first  visit  to  the  resident,  and 
actually  desired  some  of  the  seamen  to  press  their  weight  on  his  knees,, 
to  make  them  straight. 

They  sailed  on  the  7th  of  September,  and  on  the  13th  the  ships  were 
surrounded  with  Indian  boats,  bringing  parroquets,  cockatoes,  fowls,  eggs, 
and  bananas,  which  the  natives  sold  for  Dutch  money,  or  exchanged  for 
knives.  These  people  were  inhabitants  of  a  considerable  district  on  the 
mountains  of  Button,  opposite  the  place  where  the  ships  lay  at  anchor. 
On  this  spot  the  land  is  cleared  and  cultivated,  the  property  of  different 
persons  being  divided  by  ditches.  Some  of  the  fields  are  enclosed  by 
hedges,  and  there  are  houses  in  these  fields  ;  besides  which  there  are 
several  villages. 

By  daylight,  on  the  19th,  they  were  within  about  a  league  of  the  coast 
of  Celebes,  which  in  this  part  is  described  as  one  of  the  finest  countries 
in  the  world.  Inamense  herds  of  cattle  graze  on  the  plains,  which  are 
adorned  with  groves,  while  the  coast  is  one  continued  plantation  of  the 
cocoa  nut  tree.  The  plains  are  in  most  places  cultivated  and  covered 
with  houses,  while  the  maintains  behind  them  add  dignity  and  ornament 
to  the  whole  picture.  On  the  morning  of  the  26th  the  coast  of  Java  ap- 
peared with  the  rising  sun.  Having  come  to  anchor  for  the  night,  the 
ships  sailed  early  in  the  morning  of  the  27th,  and  on  the  following  night 
came  to  an  anchor,  in  fear  of  having  past  the  port  of  Batavia  ;  but  having 
sight  of  that  town  on  the  morning,  they  sailed  into,  and  soon  anchored  in 
the  road,  happy  to  have,  after  so  many  toils,  difficulties,  and  dangers, 
reached  a  spot  which  they  conceived  would  soon  put  a  period  to  all  their 
misfortunes,  by  ensuring  them  a  safe  arrival  in  Europe. 

The  ships  sailed  thence  on  the  16lh  of  October,  1768.  and  cleared  the 


M.  DE  PAGES.  219 

Straits  of  Sunda  on  the  19th,  in  the  afternoon.  By  this  time  the  crew 
were  all  perfectly  recovered  of  the  scurvy,  but  a  few  remained  ill  of 
the  bloody-fiux.  On  the  20th  the  ships  were  in  sight  of  the  Isle  of 
France,  and  on  the  8th  of  November  the  Boudeuse  anchored  in  the  port 
of  that  island  ;  the  Eioile,  which  had  been  unavoidably  left  behind,  an- 
choring in  the  same  port  on  the  following  day. 

They  sailed  from  this  the  12lh  of  December,  1768,  leaving  the  Etoile 
behind  them,  to  undergo  some  necessary  repairs.  Without  encountering 
any  singular  accident,  they  had  sight  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  on  the 
18th  of°January,  and  came  to  an  anchor  in  Table  Bay  on  the  following 
morning.  Bougainville  quitted  this  on  the  17th,  anchored  off  St.  Helena 
on  the  4th  of  February,  where  he  remained  till  the  6th  ;  and  on  the  25th 
joined  the  Swallow,  commanded  by  Captain  Carteret.  Nothing  material 
happened  from  this  time  till  they  had  sight  of  the  Isle  of  Ushant,  when  a 
violent  squall  of  wmd  had  nearly  blasted  the  hopes  of  the  voyage.  On 
the  15th  the  commodore  bore  away  for  St.  Maloes,  which  he  entered  on 
the  following  day,  after  an  absence  of  two  years  and  four  months  from  his 
native  country  ;  during  all  which  time  he  had  buried  only  seven  of  his 
crew,  a  circumstance  that  will  be  deemed  truly  astonishing,  when  we 
reflect  on  the  variety  of  dangers  they  had  encountered  and  the  amazing 
changes  of  climate  they  had  experienced. 


M.  DE  PAGES— 1767-71. 


M.  DE  Pages  having  found  an  opportunity  of  gratifying  his  predilec- 
tion for  travelling,  and  of  realizing  some  of  the  schemes  he  had  formed, 
embarked  at  Rochfort,  in  1766,  for  the  Island  of  St.  Domingo  ;  and  after 
despatching  his  business  there,  sailed  from  Cape  Francjois,  in  a  French 
vessel  bound  for  New  Orleans,  on  the  last  day  of  June,  1767. 

On  the  28th  of  July  they  anchored  opposite  to  New  Orleans,  about 
thirty  leagues  from  the  mouth  of  the  river.  The  harbour  is  large  and 
commodious.  The  houses  here  are  built  of  brick,  and  some  of  the  public 
structures  are  e.vtremely  handsome.  The  complexion  of  the  people  is 
fair ;  they  are  personally  robust,  and  in  character  cheerful  and  manly. 
The  popalation,  however,  is  not  very  considerable  ;  for  many  planters  and 
merchants  disperse  themselves  up  the  country,  and  only  visit  the  capital 
during  their  intervals  of  industry  and  traffic.  M.  de  Pag6s,  having  re- 
covered a  little  from  his  fatigues,  began  to  make  inquiries  respecting 
the  practicability  of  travelling  by  land  to  New  Spain ;  and  learning  that 
the  last  French  settlement,  named  Nachitoches,  was  only  seven  leagues 
distant  from  the  first  Spanish  port  of  Ada^s,  he  resolved  to  undertake  this 
perilous  journey. 

At  the  distance  of  eighty  leagues  from  the  entrance  of  the  Mississippi 
they  arrived  at  the  confluence  of  the  Red  River,  up  which  they  sailed, 
and  bid  adieu  to  the  noble  scenery  which  had  so  long  charmed  their  sight. 
This  stream  was  comparatively  languid  and  mean ;  the  woods  appeared 
dwarfish,  and  the  soil  ungenial.  The  port  of  Adaes  consists  of  about 
forty  mean  huts,  constructed  of  stakes  driven  into  the  ground.  There  is 
a  kind  of  fort,  called  the  Presidio  ;  and  at  a  little  distance  stand  a  church 
and  a  convent  of  Franciscans.  According  to  the  best  information  M.  de 
Pages  could  receive,  Mexico  was  distant  no  less  than  550  leagues.  Thus 
precluded  from  proceeding,  unless  he  could  form  a  kind  of  caravan,  our 
traveller  accidentally  heard  that  the  governor  of  the  province,  who  was 


220  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  W0RLJ3. 

recalled  to  Mexico,  at  that  time  lay  ill,  about  fifty  leagues  distant,  at  a 
place  called  Naquadoch.  This  gentleman  he  resolved  to  join,  and  throw 
himself  on  his  protection.  On  his  arrival  he  soon  recovered  his  health, 
and  had  the  pleasure  to  meet  with  a  kind  reception  from  the  governor. 
I'hey  set  out  on  the  2d  of  November,  being  in  all  fifteen  persons,  with 
many  mules  and  horses.  In  the  province  of  Tegas,  particularly  on  the 
banks  of  its  rivers,  grow  noble  forests  of  oaks  and  cypresses,  which, 
singly  viewed,  have  often  a  very  picturesque  appearance.  Roebucks 
weie  seen  in  flocks  ;  and,  unawed  by  man,  every  animal  seemed  to  con- 
sider itself  ii6  the  denizen  and  the  master  of  the  soil  ;  even  the  birds, 
which  are  naturally  timid,  perched  on  the  backs  of  the  mules.  On  the 
last  day  of  November  they  arrived  in  safety  at  the  settlement  of  San 
Antonio,  having  travelled  250  leagues. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1768,  they  arrived  at  Sartille,  160  leagues 
distant  from  San  Antonio.  This  is  a  pretty  large  and  populous  town, 
occupied  both  by  Indians  and  Spaniards.  The  churches  and  squares  are 
not  inelegant,  and  she  streets  are  broad  and  clean.  A  number  of  mer- 
chants have  fixed  their  residence  here,  because  it  is  the  chief  mart  foi 
Indian  productions.  The  Spaniards,  under  an  aflfectation  of  generosity, 
are  both  illiberal  and  selfish  ;  in  short,  they  have  all  the  pride  and  state- 
liness  of  Castile,  without  the  noble  and  generous  qualities  of  the  genuine 
Spaniard.  Here,  for  the  first  time  in  his  travels,  our  author  met  with 
excellent  wheaten  bread.  The  gardens  too  produce  many  of  the  Euro- 
pean fruits  and  vegetables  ;  and  the  climate  seems  to  be  one  of  the  most 
delightful  in  the  world. 

On  the  10th  of  February  they  continued  their  journey  ;  and,  as  they 
were  now  entering  on  a  country  liberally  supplied  with  all  the  neces- 
saries of  life,  they  were  relieved  from  the  barthen  of  carrying  their  pro- 
visions. On  the  second  day  of  his  journey  he  arrived  at  the  celebrated 
mines  of  Potosi,  near  which  is  a  handsome,  well-built  town  of  the  same 
name,  s-urrounded  by  beautiful  gardens.  The  streets  are  well  laid  out, 
the  public  buildings  magnificent,  and  the  people  opulent.  But  the  In- 
dians seemed  grievously  oppressed  throughout  the  whole  province  ;  and 
seem  reluctantly  to  bear  their  yoke.  The  surrounding  country  is  full 
of  mineral  riches,  and  still  there  is  a  great  deal  of  real,  though  concealed, 
poverty  ;  for  the  facility  with  which  money  is  acquired  induce  habits  of 
dissipation,  which  lead  to  distress. 

Soon  after  leaving  this  pJace,  our  traveller  ascended  mountains  of 
considerable  elevation  ;  and  for  three  days  saw  nothing  but  large  com- 
modious villages,  that  intimated  his  approach  to  the  capital,  which  he 
descried  from  the  heights  on  the  2Sth  of  February,  and  the  same  day 
had  the  pleasure  to  enter  Mexico.  It  is  well  known  that  this  superb 
city  stands  in  the  centre  of  an  extensive  lake,  connected  with  the  main 
land  by  causeways,  raised  to  a  great  height  above  thejevel  of  the  water. 
The  causeway  by  which  our  traveller  entered  the  capital  was  at  least  100 
feet  broad  and  three  miles  long.  It  rests  on  a  series  of  arches,  kept  in 
excellent  repair,  which  give  a  free  passage  to  the  briny  waters  of  the 
lake.  The  city  of  Mexico  is  about  six  leagues  in  circumference,  and  is 
defended  only  by  barriers  in  the  form  of  turnpike  gates.  The  streets  in 
general  are  broad,  run  in  straight  lines,  and  are  adorned  with  elegant 
houses,  three  or  four  stories  high.  The  public  buildings  are  most  mag- 
nificent ;  and  the  walks,  squares,  and  gardens  are  delightful. 

After  staying  here  three  weeks,  in  expectation  of  some  baggage  coming 
up,  and  finding  that  it  was  delayed  by  the  illness  of  a  person  to  whosa 


M.  DE  PAGES.  221 

care  it  was  intrusted,  M.  de  Pag6s  resolved  rather  to  proceed  without  it, 
than  lose  the  chance  of  the  galleon's  sailing  from  Acapulco.  Accord- 
ingly ho  set  out  on  the  38lh  of  March,  with  no  other  companion  than 
two  mules.  His  impatience  to  get  to  the  end  of  his  journey  was  so 
great,  that  he  overlooked  losses  and  inconveniences.  Acapulco  is  a 
miserable  little  place,  though  dignified  with  the  name  of  a  city  ;  and, 
being  surrounded  with  volcanic  mountains,  its  atmosphere  is  constantly 
thick  and  unwholesome.  The  harbour,  however,  is  safe,  beautiful,  and 
extensive  :  and  being  the  ordinary  port  for  the  Manilla  galleon,  it  derives 
an  importance  from  this  circumstance,  which  has  rendered  it  famous  over 
all  the  world.  During  the  time  that  our  traveller  sojourned  here,  they 
had  three  slight  shocks  of  an  earthquake.  At  first  he  perceived  the 
ground  to  tremble  under  him,  and  heard  a  noise  like  the  rattling  of  a 
carriage  over  a  rough  pavement.  Being  then  half  asleep,  he  did  not 
immediately  guess  the  cause  ;  but  he  was  soon  completely  awakened  by 
the  screams  of  women  and  children,  who  ran  about  the  streets  pouring 
forth  their  prayers,  and  exclaming,  in  one  voice,  "  Ave  Maria  !  Ave 
Maria  Santissima  !" 

On  the  2d  of  April,  1768,  they  set  sail  on  their  passage  to  Manilla. 
The  ship  was  only  of  500  tons  burthen,  and  was  so  crowded  as  to  present 
an  idea  of  horrid  confusion.  Each  common  sailor  was  allowed  a  couple 
of  servants ;  consequently,  the  domestics  were  much  more  numerous 
than  their  masters  ;  and,  being  all  without  order  and  discipline,  gave 
occasion  to  terrible  uproar.  Having  reached  the  thirteenth  degree  of 
latitude,  they  stood  to  the  south-west  with  a  faint  breeze.  During  the 
night  they  had  frequent  lightning,  accompanied  with  loud  claps  of  thun- 
der. Soon  after,  the  wind  freshening,  the  sky  became  clear,  and  the 
rate  of  their  sailing  was  accelerated,  with  the  finest  weather  and  the 
most  beautiful  sea  that  could  be  conceived.  Nothing  particular  occurred 
during  the  voyage  for  many  days.  On  the  9th  of  June  they  discovered 
the  high  mountains  of  Guam,  one  of  the  Marian  Isles,  and  came  to  an 
anchor  the  following  day  off  that  island,  opposite  a  small  fort.  This  fort 
is  three  leagues  from  the  principal  town,  which  is  of  some  extent,  and 
the  ordinary  residence  of  the  governor. 

Having  taken  in  fresh  water  and  provisions,  they  put  to  sea  again  on 
the  1.5th  of  June.  Hitherto  their  passage  had  been  extremely  favoura- 
ble, and  they  were  now  only  100  leagues  from  the  Philippine  Islands  ; 
but  here  the  sky  became  suddenly  overcast,  and  the  weather  rough  and 
tempestuous.  On  the  17th  the  storm  abated,  when  they  found  they  had 
been  carried  greatly  to  the  northward  of  their  course,  as  it  was  a  month 
since  they  had  been  able  to  take  an  observation.  After  a  dead  calm,  and 
another  storm  of  five  days'  duration,  at  last  they  came  in  view  of  Cape 
Spiritu  Santo  ;  and  having  still  a  very  dangerous  passage  of  100  leagues 
to  Manilla,  it  was  determined  to  winter  on  the  Isle  of  Samar,  where  they 
anchored  in  the  spacious  road  of  Palapa,  formed  by  three  small  islands, 
on  the  1st  of  August. 

Samar  is  blessed  with  such  a  fertile  soil,  that  it  rewards  the  industry 
of  the  husbandman  at  least  forty-fold.  Besides  other  grain,  it  produces 
a  considerable  quantity  of  rice.  The  common  food,  however,  of  the 
natives  is  potatoes,  yams,  and  a  root  named  gaby.  Agreeably  to  the 
example  of  the  Indians,  our  traveller  lived  entirely  on  roots,  whose 
saccharine  taste  is  more  pleasant,  and  their  qualities  more  nutritious,  than 
the  uniform  use  of  insipid  boiled  rice.  At  first,  this  kind  of  food  seemed 
heavy  and  fiatulent ;  but  soon  became  familiar  to  the  stomach.     He  had, 

19* 


222  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

likewise,  plenty  of  pork  for  his  consvimption,  and  sometimes  eggs  ;  be« 
sides  a  variety  of  delicious  fruits,  among  which  the  cocoa  nut  bore  dis- 
tinguished pre-eminence.  The  common  salute  between  the  sexes,  and 
of  affection  among  relations,  is  here  preceded  by  a  gentle  aspiration  of 
incense  on  that  part  of  the  face  to  which  the  lips  are  meant  to  be  applied. 
The  women  wear  an  apron,  which,  after  passing  several  times  round  the 
v/aist,  falls  down  to  the  toe  ;  and  some  of  them  have  a  petticoat  so  very 
thin  and  transparant,  that  modesty  obliges  them  to  tuck  up  a  corner  of  it  in 
their  girdle,  by  which  one  leg  is  exposed.  Their  shift  ia  shorter  than 
that  of  the  men  ;  but  their  head-dress  is  not  very  different,  except  that 
they  roll  their  hair  high  on  the  crown. 

Though  they  had  been  favoured  with  many  intervals  of  fine  weather, 
the  wind  v/as  not  propitious  for  their  sailing  till  the  end  of  September. 
On  the  7th  of  October,  having  got  everything  on  board,  they  st(3ered  for 
Manilla.  In  passing  the  Straits  of  San  Bernardino,  they  found  a  most 
rapid  current,  attended  with  whirlpools  ;  but  the  direction  of  the  stream 
being  generally  in  their  favoui:,  and  the  wind  increasing,  they  made  a 
pretty  rapid  progress.  Pursuing  their  course,  and  passing  several  islands, 
on  the  15th  of  October  they  anchored  in  Port  Oavite,  to  the  north-east 
of  the  Bay  of  Manilla.  Cavite  is  the  harbour  chiefly  frequented  by  the 
king's  ships,  while  in'  the  Philippine  Isles.  It  is  formed  by  a  tongue  of 
land,  on  which  stands  an  arsenal  defended  by  excellent  batteries  of  great 
extent.  The  town  of  this  port  is  named  St.  Rocb,  and  is  well  peopled 
with  Indians,  who  make  active  sailors  and  useful  workmen.  It  stands 
about  two  leagues  from  Manilla. 

The  city  of  Manilla  is  of  considerable  extent ;  the  streets  are  hand- 
some, and  the  houses  are  built  in  a  convenient  style.  The  inhabitants 
of  the  first  distinction  are  affluent,  and  the  generality  are  in  easy  circum- 
stances. The  taste  for  expense,  luxury,  and  debauchery,  however,  is 
much  less  strong  than  in  the  Spanish  American  settlements.  The  gay, 
simple,  and  ingenuous  manners  of  the  Indians  seem  to  have  in  some 
measure  subdued  the  haughty  and  arrogant  temper  of  the  Spaniard  ;  and 
an  amiable  example,  to  have  been  copied  with  a  good  effect  by  the 
Christians.  The  river  which  forms  the  harbour  for  trading  ships,  flows 
tinder  the  city  walls,  and  separates  Manilla  from  the  town  of  St.  Croix. 
This  last  is  almost  equally  well  built  with  the  capital,  and  is  populous  in 
Indians  and  Spaniards.  At  a  small  distance  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the 
river,  on  the  same  side  with  Manilla,  are  several  considerable  towns, 
chiefly  occupied  by  the  natives.  Few  merchants  or  mechanics  reside 
within  the  walls  of  Manilla.  The  great  seat  of  manufacture,  and  the 
emporium  of  merchandise,  is  Parian,  on  the  farther  side  of  the  river, 
which  is  pretty  well  built,  and  principally  inhabited  by  the  industrious 
Chinese.  Among  the  inhabitants  of  Manilla  are  Armenian  merchants, 
Malays,  natives  of  the  Malabar  coast,  and  of  the  kingdom  of  Siam, 
besides  a  few  .Japanese,  who  have  been  accidentally  thrown  on  the  coast, 
and  have  fixed  their  residence  here.  It  is  a  law  of  the  empire  of 
Japan,  that  no  subject  shall  sail  out  of  the  sight  of  land  under  pain  of 
death  ;  hence,  such  as  happen  to  be  forced  by  the  violence  of  the  wind 
and  weather  to  a  different  shore,  renounce  every  idea  of  ever  returning 
to  their  native  land.  With  an  extreme  deference  for  their  superiors, 
they  are  brave,  sober,  and  intelligent.  In  their  deportment  they  are 
brave  and  sedate  ;  hardy  and  robust  in  their  persons  ;  and,  though  capa- 
ble of  enduring  the  severest  toil,  are  little  disposed  to  submit  to  more 
than  they  can  well  avoid. 


H.  DE  PAGES,  22a 

As  there  was  no  ship  to  sail  from  Mauilla  sooner  than  that  which  was 
bound  for  Batavia,  M.  de  Pag6s  chose  to  embrace  this  opportunity  of 
resuming  his  travels  ;  and  accordingly  sailed  from  Manilla  on  the  7th  of 
March,  1789,  on  board  a  small  vessel  bound  for  Batavia ;  and,  without 
any  remarkable  occurrence,  anchored  in  that  road  on  the  15th  of  April. 

M.  de  Pages  found  much  entertainment  in  rambling  about  the  streets 
of  Batavia,  each  of  which  presents  the  gay  and  pleasant  effects  of  a 
beautiful  promenade.  On  either  side  is  a  regular  row  of  houses,  veneered 
with  a  sort  of  tessellated  bricks.  Along  the  sides  of  each  house,  two 
or  three  steps  from  the  ground,  runs  a  terrace,  which  is  separated  from 
the  adjoining  building  by  benches,  and  covered  with  tents  or  booths,  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  proprietor  and  his  friends.  Beneath  this  ter- 
race is  a  space  six  or  seven  feet  wide,  paved  with  flag-stones,  which 
forms  a  path  for  foot  passengers.  Contiguous  to  this  is  a  much  larger 
space,  covered  with  fine  sand  and  gravel  for  carriages  ;  and,  last  of  all, 
appears  a  row  of  bushy  evergreens,  cut  in  fan  form,  which  lines  each 
side  of  a  canal  of  running  water,  about  thirty  yards  wide. 

They  set  sail  on  the  2d  of  August,  1769,  and  doubling  Bantam,  they 
entered  the  Straits  of  Sunda.  The  wind  soon  proving  unfavourable,  and 
provisions  growing  short,  it  was  first  proposed  to  put  into  Rajapour,  on 
the  main  land  :  but  the  wind  afterward  shifting  to  their  wish,  they  held 
on  their  course  for  Bombay,  and  soon  anchored  off  that  island.  The 
ship  having  despatched  her  business,  our  traveller  continued  his  voyage 
in  her  to  Surat,  where  they  arrived  on  the  7th  of  September.  This  is  a 
very  large  and  beautiful  road,  but  much  exposed  to  winds,  and  too  remote 
from  the  land  to  be  commodious. 

M.  de  Pag6s  proceeded,  on  the  6th  of  December,  by  the  way  of 
Bassan,  to  Salset,  an  island  in  the  vicinity  of  Bombay,  from  which  it  is 
separated  by  a  small  channel.  This  is  a  very  pleasant  spot,  though  the 
soil  is  not  fertile.  The  blossoms  of  various  fruits  and  flowers  perfume  the 
air  ;  and  at  Pary,  near  the  centre  of  the  island,  where  our  author  took  up  his 
abode,  no  situation  could  be  more  delightfully  rural.  Here  he  formed 
an  acquaintance  with  several  Bramins,  from  whom  he  received,  in  many 
instances,  much  kindness  and  civility.  Having  made  a  considerable  stay 
on  this  island,  about  the  end  of  January,  1770,  having  learned  that  a 
French  vessel  had  anchored  at  Surat,  he  was  desirous  to  embrace  this 
opportunity  of  writing  to  his  friends  in  Europe.  Departing,  therefore, 
from  Salset,  in  five  days  he  arrived  at  Danou,  whence  it  was  easy  to  have 
letters  conveyed  to  Surat.  As  he  returned  by  Bassan,  he  had  a  second 
opportunity  of  contemplating  with  admiration  the  simple,  but  civilized, 
manners  of  the  natives.  In  the  genius  of  the  people,  however,  are  cer- 
tain shades  of  difference,  chiefly  arising  from  the  variety  of  religious 
opinions,  or  the  diversity  of  origin.  The  Portuguese  are  vain  and  mso- 
lent ;  the  Mahometans,  with  all  their  simplicity,  are  prone  to  pride,  and 
a  haughty  opinion  of  themselves  :  while  the  Gentoos,  and  particularly 
the  Bramins,  are  unaffectedly  simple,  gentle,  regular,  and  temperate. 

M.  de  Pag6s  observes,  that  though  all  public  offices  centre  in  the 
Bramins,  they  are  peculiarly  affable  and  condescending,  and  appear  to  bo 
perfectly  unacquainted  with  the  meaning  of  "  the  insolence  of  office,"  a 
phrase  so  well  understood  in  Europe.  The  different  chambers  of  admi- 
nistration, as  well  as  the  courts  of  justice,  are  open  to  the  inspection  of 
the  public  ;  while  those  who  preside  in  them  are  equally  accessible  to 
the  lowest  as  the  highest. 

On  the  20th  ai  April  they  set  sail  for  Bassora,  in  company  with  aa 


224  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

English  armed  vessel,  that  protected  them  through  the  gulf  which  i« 
much  infested  by  pirates.  In  thirteen  days  they  dropped  anchor  at 
Mascate,  which  lies  without  the  Straits  of  Ormus,  and,  consequently,  is 
a  favourable  situation  for  trade.  Hence  it  serves  as  an  em^pcrium  for 
the  commerce  of  India  and  Persia.  M.  de  Pag6s  took  this  opportunity 
of  going  ashore,  where  he  met  with  a  native  of  Ispahan,  who  acted  as 
agent  for  French  affairs  in  this  city.  The  houses  are  miserably  built, 
but  the  number  of  fine  gardens  gives  the  place  a  cheerful  appearance 
High  and  almost  inaccessible  mountains  surround  it,  and  a  handful  of 
men  may  guard  the  access  by  land  against  a  whole  army.  The  iman  of 
this  kingdom  affects  to  be  the  only  genuine  descendant  of  Mahomet.  He 
possesses  an  extensive  territory,  and  lives  in  great  splendour  in  his  capi- 
lal,  about  five  days'  journey  from  Mascate. 

Bassora  is  subject,  under  the  grand  seignior,  to  the  Bashaw  of  Bagh- 
dad :  who,  however,  possesses  but  a  very  limited  authority,  and  finds  it 
expedient  to  exercise  much  discretion  in  his  conduct  both  to  the  Curds 
and  Arabians.  The  English  possess  the  greatest  part  of  the  Bassora 
trade  ;  and  as  the  Arabs,  who  compose  the  bulk  of  the  inhabitants,  are 
little  civilized,  and  as  the  Turks  might  be  inimical  to  their  interests,  they 
have  had  the  address,  under  various  pretexts,  to  get  500  national  troops  . 
stationed  ashore  ;  and  as  their  ships  lie  at  anchor  within  gun-shot  of  the 
town,  they  are  in  a  condition  to  overawe  the  inhabitants  on  any  emergency 
that  may  render  their  interference  requisite.  In  the  exercise,  however, 
of  a  most  extensive  commerce,  the  English  have  discovered  the  good 
policy  of  appearing  open  and  liberal  in  their  transactions  with  strangers, 
and,  as  merchants,  are  deservedly  esteemed.  M.  de  Pages  having  waited 
on  the  French  consul  on  the  25th  of  June,  was  politely  received  by  him. 
Learning  that  a  caravan  had  set  out  for  Aleppo  only  fifteen  days  before, 
he  saw  with  regret  the  opportunity  he  had  lost  of  crossing  the  desert, 
and  feared  lest  he  should  be  detained  here  for  a  long  space  before  the 
departure  of  an  other.  His  fears,  however,  were  of  no  long  duration. 
A  caravan  of  Bedouins,  or  Arabian  shepherds,  on  their  way  to  Aleppo, 
were  now  approaching  the  town ;  and  having  sent  to  inquire  if  any 
passengers  were  desirous  to  take  the  advantage  of  their  protection,  the 
Frerith  consul  obligingly  equipped  M.  de  Pages  for  tJiis  expedition  ;  who, 
having  assumed  the  Turkish  habit,  and  made  his  best  acknowledgments 
to  his  beneficent  countrymen,  he  departed,  after  being  no  more  than  three 
days  in  Bassora. 

The  wealth  of  an  Arab  consists  in  his  flocks  and  his  herds.  His  horses, 
and  particularly  his  mares,  are  of  great  value  ;  and,  as  he  is  fond  of 
horsemanship,  they  are  his  greatest  favourites.  An  Arabian  horse  feeds 
only  once  a  day,  and  then  moderately,  and  at  the  same  time  that  he  is 
one  of  the  fleetest  animals  in  the  world,  he  is  also  one  of  the  most  ab- 
stemious. The  camel,  though  less  valued,  is  of  no  less  consequence  to 
his  master.  He  serves  to  transport  his  family  and  property  from  one  part 
of  the  desert  to  another,  and  besides  is  an  article  of  traffic  for  grain  and 
other  necessaries  of  life.  As  the  general  aspect  of  the  desert  is  that  of 
a  vast  plain,  bounded  on  all  sides  by  the  horizon,  in  vain  does  the  roving 
eye  of  the  traveller  seek  to  rest  on  some  intervening  object ;  and,  there- 
fore, after  flitting  over  a  dismal  waste  of  gray  sand  and  scorched  bram- 
bles, it  returns  at  last,  languid  and  fatigued,  to  enjoy  a  little  relaxation  in 
a  variety  of  herds  and  other  Arabian  property  with  which  it  is  surrounded. 
A  deep  and  mournful  silence  reigns  over  the  dreary  landscape  ;  neither 
beast,  bird,  nor  insecS  is  seen  to  diversify  the  sad  unifprmity  of  the  scene. 


k.  DB  PAaEfl.  225 

Aft^r  three  days'  farther  progress,  toward  evening,  they  descrifevl  about 
kwelve  Arabs  with  a  number  of  camels.  The  chief  of  the  caravan, 
tempted  perhaps  by  the  smallness  of  the  party,  ordered  his  men  to  give 
chase  ;  and  in  their  flight  they  dropped  some  linen,  bottles,  and  clubs. 
This  exploit  was  by  no  means  agreeable  to  M.  de  Pages  ;  he  reflected  on 
the  probable  consequences  of  it — he  f»lt  for  its  injustice.  The  night, 
however,  passed  without  molestation,  and  next  morning  they  resumed 
their  journey  ;  but  about  noon,  on  a  sudden,  they  saw  a  body  of  armed 
men  nding  full  speed  toward  them.  The  Bedouins  stopped  their  camels^ 
and  entered  into  a  conference  with  a  messenger,  who  came  to  treat  with 
them  on  the  part  of  the  enemy.  ]Vo  agreement,  however,  could  be  made  ; 
the  Arab  returned  to  his  friends,  and  the  people  of  the  caravan  flew  to  arms. 

The  enemy  advanced  in  order  of  battle,  to  the  number  of  500  men, 
while  the  force  on  our  traveller's  side  consisted  only  of  150.  The  Be- 
douins, however,' waited  their  approach  with  steadiness  and  resolution, 
shouting  Alia  ou  Alia  !  an  invocation  to  God  to  witness  the  justice  of 
their  cause.  A  running  fight  soon  commented  ;  while  the  Arabs,  trust- 
ing to  their  numbers,  seemed  disposed  to  surround  the  caravan,  and  de- 
clined coming  to  close  quarters. 

The  engagement  continued  to  be  maintained  in  this  indecisive  manner 
till  the  approach  of  night,  when  the  main  body  of  the  enemy,  retiring  to 
a  considerable  distance  from  the  caravan,  gave  the  musketeers  an  oppor- 
tunity of  closing  their  ranks.  On  the  side  of  the  Bedouins,  none  were 
killed  nor  wounded  ;  while  they  boasted  of  having  killed  some  men  and 
camels  belonging  to  the  enemy. 

In  a  short  time  many  fires  were  lighted  up  by  the  Bedouins,  and  they 
began  to  form  themselves  into  circles,  and  to  whisper  to  each  other.  Our 
traveller  conceived  that  some  secret  enterprise  was  in  agitation  ;  and  in 
a  short  time  they  began  to  saddle  their  camels  ;  while  his  conductor  gave 
him  notice  of  the  intended  flight,  and  advised  him  to  abandon  the  most 
weighty  part  of  his  provisions,  and  to  stick  fast  to  his  diomedary.  After 
riding  with  all  their  might  three  leagues,  a  party  of  seven  persons,  of 
whom  M.  de  Pages  was  one,  happening  to  be  together,  resolved  to  detach 
themselves  entirely  from  the  scattered  remains  of  the  caravan  ;  and  what 
became  of  the  rest  he  never  knew.  By  making  a  large  circuit  round  the 
region  they  had  just  traversed,  they  resumed  their  former  direction  with- 
out seeing  any  more  of  their  friends  or  enemies.  After  a  short  halt  in  the 
evening,  the  Bedouins  judged  it  necessary  to  proceed,  and  the  following 
morning  they  discovered  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates,  on  which  stood  a 
solitary  building  ;  but  suddenly  observing  a  company  of  Arabs>  they  turn- 
ed the  heads  of  their  camels,  and  fled  full  speed.  Next  day  having 
rested  in  some  hollows,  they  continued  their  journey  along  the  sides  of  the 
hills  as  soon  as  it  was  dusk,  from  the  dread  of  falling  in  with  the  natives. 
This  caution  proved  extremely  fortunate  ;  for  next  morning,  having 
gained  the  first  ridge,  and  looking  down  upon  the  plain,  they  saw  it 
crowded  with  Arabian  camps,  aad  could  not  help  congratulating  them- 
selves on  their  escape. 

Harassed  by  marches  and  countermarches,  by  fear,  fatigue,  and  want, 
our  traveller  had  such  a  confusion  of  ideas,  that  he  could  not  ascertain 
the  situation  of  the  place  near  which  they  were  ;  but  thought  it  corres- 
ponded most  with  that  of  the^  ancient  city  of  Damascus. 

This  town  is  large  and  populous.  The  houses  toward  the  streets 
make  but  an  indifferent  appearance  ;  but  have  a  handsome  garden  frout. 
The  city  contains  manufactures  of  ditTerent  kinds,  and  tlie  markets  are 


S^S  tdYAGES  ROUND  THE  tVORLf). 

elegant  and  well  supplied.  The  district  inhabited  by  the  Christians  is 
mean,  and  in  every  respect  inferior  to  the  other  quarters  of  the  town. 
The  great  trade  and  population  of  Damascus,  as  well  as  the  high  vene- 
ration it  holds  among  the  Mussulmen,  originate  from  its  being  the  place 
of  rendezvous  for  the  Mahometan  pilgrims  of  Europe,  and  part  of  Syria, 
on  their  way  to  Mecca ;  henc^  it  has  been  dignified  v/ith  the  title  of 
Mahomet's  Heel. 

This  caravan  is  conducted  by  the  Bashaw  of  Damascus,  who  receives 
a  considerable  sum  from  the  Porte  on  this  account,  as  well  as  to  main- 
tain the  military  force,  and  to  keep  certain  castles  in  the  desert  in  repair. 
At  fixed  stations  the  caravan  of  Damascus  is  joined  by  the  pilgrims  from 
Bagdad  and  Cairo,  who  all  arrive  at  Mecca,  either  at  the  solemnity  of 
Courban  Beyran,  or  Abraham's  Sacrifice  ;  or  at  the  end  of  Ramadan, 
corresponding  to  the  Jewish  passover.  The  Jesuits  of  Damascus  were 
kind  and  attentive  to  M.  de  Pages  to  the  last  degree  ;  and  in  a  city  where 
the  people  are  uncommonly  cruel  and  ferocious,  and  which,  properly 
speaking,  does  not  contain  one  resident  European,  their  hospitality  was 
the  more  gratefully  felt.  At  his  departure,  after  passing  nearly  a  week 
in  Damascus,  these  good  fathers  furnished  him  with  a  guide  to  Baruth,- 
on  the  borders  of  the  Mediterranean. 

They  arrived  at  Baruth  about  nine  in  the  morning,  when  M.  de  Pag6^ 
went  to  a  convent  of  Capuchin  friars,  from  whom  he  received  a  hearty 
welcome.  The  superior  of  this  convent  gave  our  traveller  all  the  infor- 
mation he  wanted  respecting  his  route  to  Quesrouan,  a  district  of  Ijeba- 
non,  which  he  was  inclined  to  visit ;  and  after  two  day's  stay  at  Baruth, 
in  which  city  Christians  and  Mahometans  live  on  friendly  terms,  he  con- 
tinued his  journey. 

The  impregnable  situation  of  the  country  of  Quesrouan  has  naturally 
pointed  it  out  as  an  asylum  for  all  the  professors  of  Christianity  and  Asia- 
tic Turkey  ;  and  hence  it  has  become  the  residence  of  many  bishops,  and 
the  seat  of  a  considerable  number  of  convents  for  both  sexes.  Among 
the  former  are  the  patriarch  of  the  Greek  church  ;  the  patriarch  of  An- 
tioch,  who  presides  over  the  sect  of  the  Maronites  ;  and  the  patriarch  of 
Armenia,  who  superintends  several  convents,  under  the  rule  of  his  own 
ritual.  The  people,  in  general,  are  addicted  to  religion ;  vice  and  im- 
morality are  little  known  among  them.  Though  the  women  are  not 
secluded  from  public  view,  chastity  is  so  highly  esteemed,  that  an  un- 
married female,  who  happens  to  become  pregnant,  is  sure  to  be  sacrificed' 
by  tha  hands  of  her  own  relations  ;  and  a  family  would  consider  itself  as* 
dishonoured,  should  the  person  who  marries  a  daughter  out  of  it  be  un- 
able to  produce  proofs  of  his  bride's  virginity.  Desirous  of  seeing  the 
manners  of  a  people  so  little  visited  in  their  true  and  genuine  colours, 
our  traveller,  having  spent  a  few  days  at  Jelton,  set  out  in  his  route  to 
Misra,  a  village  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  highest  mountain  in  Quesrouan. 
The  country  through  which  he  passed  was  highly  picturesque,  and  many 
spots  were  eminently  beautiful.  After  ascending  and  descending  several 
hills,  studded  with  mulberry  trees,  and  finely  cultivated  spots,  he  at  lasS 
arrived  at  Mafra,  an  open  village  of  considerable  extent. 

Quitting  this  village,  he  directed  his  course  again  to  Baruth,  which  he 
reached  aftec  an  absence  of  ten  days,  which  time  he  had  spent  in  ex- 
ploring the  mountains  of  Quesrouan.  The -friar  of  the  Capuchin  convent 
received  hun  with  cordiality,  and  informed  him  that  a  king's  xebec,  which 
had  arrived  from  France,  on  a  cruise  oflf  the  coast  of  Syria,  v/as  expected 
hi  a  few  days  to  enter  the  port  of  Sidon,  about  eight  leagues  distant.     On 


k.  DE  PAGES.  22? 

^his  information,  M.  de  Pag^s  immediately  set  out  for  that  port,  and,  on 
the  25th  of  August,  waited  oh  the  French  consul  there,  who  received 
him  with  the  most  marked  attention  ;  but  he  had  the  mortification  to  find 
that  the  xebec  had  already  sailed  tor  Candia.  Disappointed  in  his  views, 
he  now  resolved  to  proceed  to  Acre,  where  he  expected  frequent 
opportunities  of  sailing  for  France  ;  but  it  seems  his  fame  as  a  traveller 
had  preceded  him,  and  the  French  consul,  after  many  inquiries  concern- 
ing his  late  expeditions,  pressed  him  to  stay  with  him  a  little  longer,  to 
recruit  his  health,  which  was  considerably  broken  by  fatigue.  The  con- 
isul's  lady  joined  in  the  same  request. 

The  natives  of  these  mountains  are  extremely  disaffected  to  the  Turks. 
They  are  sensible  it  is  to  their  own  bravery,  and  the  inaccessible  nature 
of  their  mountains,  that  they  owe  their  happy  independence.  The  Druses 
are  well  affected  toward  the  Christians  in  general ;  but  holding  them- 
selves descended  from  a  French  ancestry,  who  are  said  to  have  taken 
refuge  in  this  district  after  their  expulsion  from  the  Holy  Land,  they 
have  more  than  a  common  regard  for  the  natives  of  that  country.  The 
principles  indeed  which,  according  to  their  historians,  actuated  the  sub- 
jects of  the  old  man  of  the  mountain,  still  influence  the  minds  of  some 
individuals.  The  industrious  character  of  the  natives  displays  itself  in 
Ihe  cultivated  state  of  their  mountains,  many  parts  of  which  present  the 
face  of  a  fine  garden.  Springs,  judiciously  directed,  water  their  mulberry 
plantations,  which  constitute  the  wealth  of  the  country.  Such  is  the 
superior  quality  and  high  value  of  the  silk  raised  here,  that  the  farmer 
obtains  from  his  mulberry  tree,  at  little  expense  and  labour,  a  comforta- 
ble subsistence  for  his  family. 

M.  de  Pages  now  paid  a  visit  to  the  town  of  Dairel-Kamar,  situated 
on  the  banks  of  the  Thamour,  on  the  side  of  a  mountain.  The  palaces, 
or  seraglios,  belonging  to  the  emirs  of  the  reigning  family,  are  fine  build- 
ings ;  the  churches  are  handsome,  and  constructed  with  good  taste  ;  and 
the  mansions  of  some  of  the  sheiks  and  commandants  have  large  and 
commodious  appartments  ;  but  the  generality  of  the  buildings  are  mean. 
The  Druses  do  not  exceed  one-half  of  the  inhabitants,  while  the  remain- 
der are  Maronites,  or  Greek  Christians.  Some  of  the  institutions  among 
the  Druses  are  very  singular.  A  mountaineer  is  never  seen  without  the 
walls  of  his  cottage  unarmed ;  and,  by  the  maxims  of  a  law  which  cus- 
tom has  established,  a  man  has  a  right  to  repel  force  by  force,  and  to 
redress  bis  wrongs  in  the  best  manner  he  can  ;  and,  therefore,  whoever 
considers  himself  as  insulted,  despatches  his  antagonist  the  moment  he 
finds  an  opportunity.  This  is  certainly  a  deplorable  laxity  of  govern- 
ment. Again,  a  man  who  gives  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  any  but  one 
of  his  own  relations,  is  considered  as  bringing  a  reproach  on  himself  and 
his  tribe  ;  and  the  consequences  are  sometimes  fatal.  Families  of  the 
same  blood  entertain  the  most  clannish  attachment ;  insomuch,  that  who- 
erer  offers  an  affront  to  one,  is  held  to  be  in  a  state  of  hostility  with  the 
whole  tribe.  Hence  many  acts  of  violence  arise  ;  and  the  offender  has 
no  other  means  of  security  than  by  putting  himself  under  the  protection 
of  some  chief,  who,  under  the  mask  of  hdspitality,  shelters  him  from  the 
pursuit  of  his  enemies. 

M.  de  Pag^s  now  made  a  second  visit  to  his  friend,  the  pastor  of 
Mafra,  taking  Aintoura  and  Jelton  in  his  way.  He  was  everywhere 
received  with  kindness  and  hospitality  ;  and  having  now  made  a  consi- 
derable stay  in  this  part  of  Asia,  and  being  desirous  of  passing  into 
£urop6,  he  proceeded  directly  to  St.  Jean  d'Acre,  a  port  much  iret^uented 


228  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLO- 

by  the  trading  ships  of  Marseilles.  Finding  a  vessel  there,  he  set  sail  /of 
Marseilles  in  the  end  of  June,  1771  ^  when  they  bore  away  for  Cvprus,  which 
having  coasted^  they  stretched  to  the  northward,  to  catch  the  breeze  from 
that  quarter^  which  they  fell  in  with  on  the  coast  of  Caramania. 

On  the  15th  of  October  they  came  to  an  anchor  at  the  Isle  of  Malta, 
where  our  traveller  met  several  French  frigates,  and  on  board  them  some  of 
his  old  companions,  whose  friendship  was  not  abated  by  his  long  absence. 
Having  afterward  touched  at  Tunis  on  some  business,  they  again  got 
under  sail  ;  but  being  retarded  by  contrary  winds,  they  did  not  reach 
Palma,  in  Sardinia,  till  the  27th  of  November.  Remaining  here  for  a 
few  days,  they  proceeded  on  their  voyage,  and  on  the  5th  of  December, 
1771,  M.  de  Pages,  with  gratitude  to  Providence  for  his  preservation  to 
the  end  of  his  travels,  again  set  his  foot  on  his  native  soil. 


CAPTAIN  COOK.— 1768-^1771. 

Mr.  Banks,  a  gentleman  of  considerable  fortune  in  Lincolnshire,  v/as 
induced  to  undertake  this  voyage  from  curiosity  and  an  invincible  desire 
of  attaining  knowledge.  He  engaged  his  friend  Dr.  Solander,  a  Swede, 
to  accompany  him  in  this  voyage.  Mr.  Banks  also  took  with  him  two 
draughtsmen,  and  had  besides  a  secretary  and  four  servants.  Lieutenant 
James  Cook  was  to  command  the  expedition. 

On  the  26th  of  August,  1768,  the  Endeavour  sailed  from  Plymouth  , 
the  Islands  of  Puerto,  Santo,  and  Madeira  were  discovered  on  the  12th 
of  September,  and  the  next  day  they  anchored  in  Fonchial  road.  Ths 
Endeavour  sailed  thence  September  the  19th,  On  the  22d  they  saw  the 
Islands  of  Salvages,  northward  of  the  Canaries.  The  chief  of  these 
islands  was  about  five  leagues  to  the  south  one-half  west.  These  islands 
appear  to  lie  in  latitude  30  degrees  1 1  minutes  north.  The  23d  saw  thu 
Peak  of  Teneriffe,  bearing  west  by  south.  This  mountain  is  near 
15,400  feet  high.  On  the  29th  perceived  Bona  Vista,  one  of  the  Cape 
de  Verde  Islands,  lying  in  latitude  16  degrees  north,  and  longitude  21 
degrees  48  minutes  west.  On  the  13th  of  November  made  sail  for  the 
harbour  of  Rio-de-Janeiro.  Mr.  Hicks,  the  first  lieutenant,  was  sent 
before  in  the  pinnace  to  the  city,  to  inform  the  governor  they  put  in 
there  for  refreshments  and  water,  and  to  obtain  a  pilot.  Captain  Cook ' 
went  on  shore  on  the  14th,  and  obtained  leave  to  purchase  provisions  ; 
and  having  requested  that  the  gentlemen  on  board  might  remain  on  shore 
•while  they  sojourned,  and  that  Mr.  Banks  might  go  up  the  country  to 
collect  plants,  these  requests  were  peremptorily  refused. 

December  the  8th,  1768,  having  procured  all  necessary  supphes,  they 
left  Rio-de-Janeiro.  On  the  14th  of  January  entered  the  Strait  of  Le 
Maire  ;  but  the  tide  being  against  them,  were  driven  out  with  great  vio- 
lence, and  the  waves  ran  so  high,  that  the  ship's  bowsprit  was  frequently 
under  water ;  at  length,  however,  they  got  anchorage  at  the  entrance  of 
a  little  cove,  which  Captain  Cook  called  St.  Vincent's  Bay. 

Mr.  Banks  and  Dr.  Solander  set  out  from  the  ship  on  the  16th,  with 
the  design  of  going  into  the  country,  and  returning  in  the  evening.  Ha- 
ving entered  a  wood,  they  ascended  the  hill  through  a  pathless  wilderness 
till  the  afternoon.  The  morning  had  been  very  fine,  but  the  weather  now 
became  cold  and  disagreeable  ;  the  blasts  of  wind  were  very  piercing, 
and  a  shower  of  snow  fell.  Mr.  Buchan,  one  of  the  draughtsmen,  fell 
into  a  fit.     It  was  absolutely  necessary  to  stop  and  kindle  a  fire,  and  such 


JAMES  COOHi  329 

fig  wefe  most  fatigued  remained  to  assist  him ;  but  Messrs.  Banks,  So- 
lander,  Green,  and  Monkhouse,  proceeded  and  attained  the  spot  they  had 
in  view.  Upon  returning,  they  found  Mr.  Buchan  much  recovered. 
They  had  previously  sent  Mr.  Monkhouse  and  Mr.  Green  back  to  him 
and  the  others,  in  order  to  bring  them  to  a  hill,  which  was  conjectured 
to  lie  in  a  better  track  for  returning  to  the  wood.  The  whole  party  met 
there  at  eight  in  the  evening.  Dr.  Solander  having  often  passed  moun- 
tains in  cold  countries,  was  sensible  that  extreme  cold,  when  joined  with 
fatigue,  occasions  a  drowsiness  that  is  not  easily  resisted  ;  he  accord- 
ingly entreated  his  friends  to  keep  in  motion,  however  disagreeable  it 
might  be  to  them  ;  his  words  were,  "  Whoever  sits  down,  will  sleep  ;  and 
whoever  sleeps,  will  wake  no  more."  Every  one  seemed  accordingly 
armed  with  resolution  ;  but  on  a  sudden  the  cold  became  so  very  intense 
as  to  threaten  the  most  direful  effects.  It  was  very  remarkable,  that  Dr. 
Solander  himself,  who  had  so  forcibly  admonished  his  party,  should  be 
the  first  who  insisted  upon  being  suffered  to  repose.  In  spite  of  the 
most  earnest  entreaties,  he  lay  down  amid  the  snow,  and  it  was  with  great 
difficulty  they  kept  him  awake.  When  a  black  servant  was  informed, 
that  if  he  remained  there  he  would  soon  be  frozen  to  death,  he  replied, 
that  he  was  so  exhausted  with  fatigue  that  death  would  be  a  relief  to 
him.  Dr.  Solander  said  he  was  not  unwilling  to  go,  but  that  he  must 
first  take  some  sleep,  notwithstanding  what  he  had  before  declared  to  the 
company.  Thus  resolved,  they  both  sat  down,  supported  by  bushes,  and 
in  a  short  time  fell  fast  asleep.  Intelligence  now  came  from  the  advanced 
party,  that  a  fire  was  kindled  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  farther  on  the 
way.  Mr.  Banks  then  waked  the  doctor,  who  had  almost  lost  the  use 
of  his  limbs  already,  though  it  was  but  a  few  minutes  since  he  sat  down. 
Every  measure  taken  to  relieve  the  black  proved  ineffectual ;  he  remain- 
ed motionless,  and  they  were  obliged  to  leave  him  to  the  care  of  th^ 
other  black  servant  and  a  sailor,  who  appeared  to  have  been  the  least  hurt 
by  the  cold.  Mr.  Banks  and  four  others  went  forth  at  twelve  o'clock  and 
met  the  sailor,  with  just  strength  enough  to  walk ;  he  was  immediately 
sent  to  the  fire,  and  they  proceeded  to  seek  for  the  two  others.  They 
found  Richmond,  one  of  the  black  servants,  upon  his  legs,  but  incapable 
of  moving  them ;  the  other  black  was  lying  senseless  upon  the  ground. 

All  endeavours  to  bring  them  to  the  fire  were  fruitless,  nor  was  it 
possible  to  kindle  one  upon  the  spot,  on  account  of  the  snow  that  had 
fallen,  and  was  still  faUing,  so  that  there  was  no  alternative,  but  to  leave 
the  two  unfortunate  negroes  to  their  fate,  making  them  a  bed  of  boughs 
of  trees,  and  covering  them  very  thick  with  the  same.  On  the  17th,  in 
the  morning,  at  daybreak,  nothing  presented  itself  around  but  snow,  the 
trees  being  equally  covered  with  it  as  the  ground.  However,  about  six 
in  the  morning  they  were  flattered  with  a  dawn  of  hope  of  being  deliver- 
ed, by  discovering  the  sun  through  the  clouds,  which  gradually  dimi- 
nished. Previous  to  setting  out,  messengers  were  despatched  to  the 
unhappy  negroes,  who  returned  with  the  melancholy  news  of  their  death. 
In  about  three  hours,  to  their  great  satisfaction,  found  themselves  upon 
the  shore,  much  nearer  to  the  ship  than  their  most  sanguine  expectations 
could  have  flattered  them.  When  they  took  a  retrospect  of  their  former 
route  from  the  sea,  they  found,  that  instead  of  ascending  the  hill  in  a 
direct  line,  they  had  made  a  circle  almost  round  the  country. 

January  the  26th  Captain  Cook  sailed  from  Cape  Horn.  The  farthest 
southern  latitude  he  made  was  60  degrees  10  minutes,  by  74  degrees  30 
minutes  west.     March  the  1st  were^in  latitude  38  degrees  44  minutes 

20 


230  VOYAGBS  ROtND  THE  WORLD. 

south,  &nd  longitude  110  degrees  33  minutes  west,  as  well  by  observa- 
tion as  by  the  log ;  which  concurrence,  after  a  course  of  660  leagues, 
was  judged  very  singular. 

April  the  4th,  a  servant  to  Mr,  Banks  discovered  land  three  or  four 
leagues  distant.  It  was  found  to  be  an  island  of  an  oval  form,  with  a 
lake  or  lagoon  in  the  centre ;  the  border  of  land  was  in  many  places 
low  and  narrow,  especially  toward  the  south,  where  the  beach  consisted 
of  a  reef  of  rocks.  Captain  Cook  came  within  a  mile  on  the  north  side, 
but  found  no  bottom  nor  anchorage.  There  appeared  along  the  beach 
some  of  the  inhabitants,  with  pikes  or  poles  in  their  hands,  twice  the 
heigiit  of  themselves.  This  island  was  in  latitude  18  degrees  south, 
longitude  139  degrees  28  minutes  west,  and  was  named  Lagoon  Island. 
They  saw  land  again  in  the  afternoon  to  the  north-west,  when  it  appeared 
a  low  island  covered  with  wood,  in  form  circular,  about  a  mile  in  circum- 
ference. No  inhabitants  were  visible,  though  the  Endeavour  had  reached 
the  shore  within  half  a  mile.  This  island,  which  is  distant  from  that  of 
Lagoon  about  seven  leagues,  was  named  Thrumb  Cap.  The  5th  con- 
tinued their  course,  and  about  three  o'clock  discovered  land  to  the  west. 
This  was  a  low  island,  between  ten  and  twelve  leagues  in  circumference ; 
it  resembles  in  form  a  bow.  This  island,  from  the  smoke  discovered, 
appeared  to  be  inhabited,  and  was  named  Bow  Island. 

About  noon,  on  the  6th,  saw  land  again  to  the  west  ;  this  seemed  divided 
into  two  islands,  or  rather  collections  of  islands,  their  extent  being  near 
nine  leagues.  Some  of  these  were  ten  miles  or  more  in  length,  and  pro- 
duced trees  of  different  kinds,  among  which  was  the  cocoa  nut.  Several 
of  the  inhabitants  came  out  in  canoes,  and  two  appeared  to  have  a  design 
of  coming  on  board,  but  stopped  at  the  reef.  Next  day  discovered  an- 
other island,  judged  to  be  in  compass  about  five  miles.  It  was  very  low, 
with  a  piece  of  water  in  the  centre,  and  appeared  to  abound  in  wood  and 
verdure,  but  no  inhabitants  were  visible.  It  was  called  Bird  Island,  from, 
the  number  of  them  flying  about.  The  8th  saw  land  to  the  north.  This 
seemed  to  be  a  chain  of  low  islands,  of  an  oval  figure,  and  consisted  of 
coral  and  sand,  with  a  few  clumps  of  small  trees,  and  in  the  middle  of 
it  a  lagoon.  It  was,  from  its  appearance,  called  Chain  Island.  On  the 
10th,  after  a  tempestuous  night,  saw  Osnaburgh  Island,  called  by  the 
natives  Maite.  This  island  is  high  and  circular,  about  four  miles  in  cir- 
cumference, partly  naked  and  rocky,  and  partly  covered  with  trees. 

The  same  day,  on  looking  out  for  the  island  to  which  they  were  des- 
tined, saw  land  ahead.  Next  morning  it  appeared  very  high  and  moun- 
tainous, and  was  known  to  be  King  George  the  Third's  Island,  so  named 
by  Captain  Wallis,  but  by  the  natives  called  Otaheite.  They  lay  ofT  and 
on  till  the  13th,  and  then  entered  Port  Royal  Harbour,  anchoring  within 
half  a  mile  of  the  shore.  A  great  number  of  natives  immediately  came 
off  in  canoes,  bringing  with  them  bananas,  cocoa  nuts,  bread  fruit,  apples, 
and  some  hogs,  which  they  bartered  with  the  ship's  crew  for  beads  and 
other  trinkets.  When  the  ship  was  properly  secured,  the  captain  went 
on  shore  with  Mr.  Banks,  Dr.  Solander,  a  party  under  arras,  and  an  old 
Indian.  They  were  received  by  some  hundreds  of  the  natives,  v;ho  were 
struck  with  such  awe,  that  the  first  who  approached  crept  almost  upon 
his  hands  and  knees.  He  presented  them  branches  of  trees,  the  usual 
symbol  of  peace.  This  was  received,  on  the  part  of  the  English,  with 
demonstrations  of  satisfaction  and  friendship ;  and  they  gathered  some, 
and  followed  the  example  of  the  natives.  They  were  conducted  toward 
the  place  where  the  Dolphin  had  watered.     The  whole  circuit  was  near 


JAMES  COOK. 


2^31 


foTir  miles,  through  groves  of  trees  of  cocoa  nuts  and  bread  fruit.  Be- 
neath which  were  the  habitations  of  the  natives,  consisting  of  only  a 
roof,  destitute  of  wails.  In  this  peregrination  the  gentlemen  were  not  a 
liltle  disappointed  at  finding  very  few  fowls  or  hogs. 

The  15th,  in  the  morning,  several  of  the  chiefs,  one  of  whom  was  very 
corpulent,  came  on  board  from  the  other  point,  bringing  with  them  hogs, 
bread  fruit,  and  other  refreshments.  This  day  the  captain,  attended  by 
Mr.  Banks  and  others,  went  on  shore  to  fix  on  a  proper  spot  to  erect  a 
small  fort  for  their  defence.  The  latter  ha\ing  suspected,  from  seeing 
few  hogs  or  poultry  in  their  walks,  that  they  had  been  driven  up  the 
country,  it  was  resolved  to  penetrate  into  the  woods,  some  marines  and 
a  petty  officer  being  appointed  to  guard  the  tent  in  the  interim  ;  several 
of  the  natives  accompanied  the  gentlemen  in  this  excursion.  Upon 
crossing  a  little  river,  Mr.  Banks,  perceiving  some  ducks,  fired,  and  killed 
three.  The  Indians  were  struck  with  the  utmost  terror  at  this  event, 
which  occasioned  them  to  fall  suddenly  to  the  ground,  as  if  they  had 
been  shot  at  the  same  time.  Before  this  party  had  gone  much  farther^ 
they  were  alarmed  by  the  discharge  of  V\a  pieces,  fired  by  the  tent-guard. 
tJpon  their  return,  it  appeared  that  an  Indian  had  taken  an  opportunity  to 
snatch  away  one  of  the  sentinel's. muskets  ;  whereupon  a  young  mid- 
shipmen, very  imprudently,  ordered  the  marines  to  fire,  which  they  did, 
when  several  Indians  were  wounded  ;  but  as  the  criminal  did  not  fall,  they 
pursued  and  shot  him  dead. 

The  fort  began  to  be  erected  on  the  18th.  Some  of  the  company 
Were  employed  in  throwing  up  entrenchments,  while  others  were  occu- 
pied in  cutting  fascines  and  pickets,  which  the  Indians  of  their  own 
accord  cheerfully  assisted  in  bringing  from  the  woods.  This  day  \h& 
natives  brought  down  such  quantities  of  bread  fruit  and  cocoa  nuts,  that 
it  was  necessary  to  reject  them,  and  to  intimate,  that  the  company  would 
not  want  any  for  two  days.  Mr.  Banks's  tent  being  got  up,  he,  for  the 
first  time,  slept  on  shore.  On  the  19th  Tubora  Tumaida  visited  Mr. 
Banks  at  his  tent,  and  brought  with  him,  besides  his  wife  and  family, 
the  materials  for  erecting  a  house  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  fort,  wherd 
he  designed  to  reside.  Without  the  lines  a  sort  of  market  was  esta- 
blished, which  was  tolerably  well  supplied.  Tubora  Tumaida  became  Mr. 
Banks's  and  the  other  gentlemen's  frequent  guest ;  he  adopted  theit 
manners,  and  was  the  only  one  of  his  countrymen  who  had  attempted  to 
use  a  knife  and  fork. 

On  the  24th  Mr.  Bunhs  and  Dr.  Solander  made  an  excursion  into  the 
country,  which  they  found  to  be  level  and  fertile  for  about  two  miles  along 
the  shore  to  the  eastward,  after  which  the  hills  reached  quite  to  the 
water's  edge,  and  farther  on  they  ran  out  into  the  sea. 

On  the  25th  several  of  their  knives  were  missing ;  upon  which  Mr. 
Banks,  who  had  lost  his  among  the  rest,  accused  Tubora  Tumaida  with 
having  stolen  it,  vfhich  caused  him  to  be  very  unhappy,  as  he  happened 
to  be  innocent.  Mr.  Molineux,  master  of  the  Endeavour,  seeing  a  woman 
whose  name  was  Oberea,  he  declared  she  was  the  person  he  judged  to 
be  the  queen  of  the  island  when  he  came  there  in  the  Dolphin,  The 
eyes  of  all  were  now  fixed  on  her  who  had  made  so  distinguished  a  figure 
in  the  accounts  given  by  the  first  discoverers  of  this  island.  The  per- 
son of  the  queen  was  of  a  large  make,  and  tall ;  she  was  about  forty 
years  of  age,  her  skin  v/hitc  ;  her  eyes  had  great  expression,  and  she  had 
been  handsome,  but  her  beauty  was  now  upon  the  decline.  She  was 
noon  conducted  to  the  ship,  and  went  on  board,  accompanied  by  some  of 


1^32  VOYAGES  ROUND  tttfe  WORtft. 

her  family.  Many  presents  were  made  her,  particularly  a  child*s  doll, 
which  seemed  the  most  to  engross  het  attention.  Captain  Cook  accom- 
panied he'i  on  shore,  when  she  presented  him  with  a  hog  and  some  plan- 
tains, which  were  carried  to  the  fort  in  procession,  Oberea  and  the  cap*- 
lain  bringing  up  the  rear.  They  met  Tootahah,  who,  though  not  king, 
seemed  to  be  at  this  time  invested  with  a  sovereign  authority.  He  im» 
mediately  became  jealous  of  the  queen's  having  the  ddll,  which  made  it 
necessary  to  compliment  him  with  one  also. 

On  the  5th  Mr.  Banks  and  Dr.  Solander,  vVith  the  captain,  set  out  in 
the  pinnace,  with  one  of  Tootahah's  people  ;  they  soon  reached  Eparre, 
the  place  where  he  dwelt,  which  was  but  a  few  miles  to  the  west  of  the 
tents.  Upon  their  arrival,  they  found  great  numbers  of  people  upon  thff 
shore  waiting  for  them.  They  were  immediately  conducted  to  the  chief, 
while  the  people  shouted  round  them,  Taio  Tootahah,  "  Tootahah  is  oui 
friend  ;"  they  found  him  sitting  under  a  tree,  and  some  old  men  standing 
round  him.  As  soon  as  he  had  made  signs  for  them  to  sit  down,  he 
asked  for  his  axe,  which  Captain  Cook  presented  with  a  shirt  and  a 
broad-cloth  garment,  with  which  he  seemed  greatly  pleased.  After  eating, 
an  entertainment  was  provided  for  them,  consisting  of  wrestling.  The 
chief  sat  at  the  upper  end  of  the  area,  vi^ith  several  of  his  principal  men 
on  each  side,  by  way  of  judges,  from  whom  the  conquerors  received 
applause.  Ten  or  twelve  combatants  entered  the  area,  and  after  many 
simple  ceremonies  of  challenging  each  other,  they  engaged,  endeavouring 
to  throw  one  another  by  dint  of  strength  ;  then  seizing  hold  of  each  other 
by  the  thigh,  the  hand,  the  hair,  or  the  clothes,  they  grappled  without 
the  least  art,  till  one  was  thrown  on  his  back  ;  this  conquest  was  applauded 
by  some  words  from  the  old  men,  and  three  huzzas.  After  one  engage- 
ment succeeded  another,  but  if  they  could  not  throw  each  other  during 
the  space  of  a  minute,  they  parted,  either  by  consent,  or  the  intervention 
of  their  friends. 

On  the  15th  Mr.  Banks  detected  Tubora  Tamaida  in  having  stolen 
some  nails.  He  had  had  a  good  opinion  of  this  chief,  and  was  willing  to 
put  his  fidelity  to  the  test ;  several  temptations  were  thrown  in  his  way, 
among  the  rest,  a  basket  of  nails,  which  proved  irresistible.  He  con- 
fessed the  fact,  and  upon  Mr.  Banks's  insisting  upon  restitution,  he  de- 
clared the  nails  were  at  Eparre  ;  this  occasioned  high  words,  and  at  length 
the  Indian  produced  one  of  them.  He  was  to  have  been  forgiven  upon 
restoring  the  rest,  but  not  having  resolution  to  fulfil  his  engagement,  fled 
with  his  furniture  and  family  before  night.  Tootahah  sent  many  mes- 
sages to  request  a  visit  from  the  captain,  declaring  he  would  acknowledge 
the  compliment  by  a  present  of  some  hogs.  Mr.  Hicks,  the  first  lieute- 
nant, was  sent,  in  hopes  of  getting  the  hogs  without  the  visit.  He  was 
received  in  a  very  friendly  manner  at  a  place  called  Tettehah,  five  miles 
farther  to  the  westward,  where  Tootahah  had  taken  up  his  residence. 
He  brought  away  one  hog  only,  which  had  been  produced  immediately 
upon  his  arrival,'  with  a  promise  of  receiving  more  the  next  morning; 
but,  when  morning  came,  he  was  obliged  to  depart  without  them. 

On  the  27lh,  Tootahah  being  removed  to  a  place  called  Atahourou, 
Mr.  Banks,  Dr.  Solander,  Captain  Cook,  and  some  others,  set  out  in  the 
pinnace  to  pay  him  a  visit :  after  making  presents  of  a  few  trifling  articles, 
they  were  invited  to  stay  all  night.  Mr.  Banks  having  accepted  of  a  place 
in  Oberea's  canoe,  left  his  companions,  in  order  to  retire  to  rest.  Not- 
withstanding the  care  Oberea  took  of  his  clothes,  by  having  them  in  her 
own  custody,  they  were  stolen,  with  his  pistols,  powder-horn,  and  many 


'  JAMES  COOK.  233 

other  things  in  his  pockets.  The  alarm  was  given  to  Tootahah,  who  slept 
in  the  next  canoe,  and  who  went  with  Oberea  in  search  of  the  thief,  lea- 
ving Mr.  Banks  nearly  naked,  and  his  musket  uncharged.  They  soon 
returned,  but  without  success  ;  Mr.  Banks  thought  proper  to  put  up  with 
the  loss  for  the  present,  and  a  second  time  endeavoured  to  sleep.  But 
he  had  scarcely  composed  himself,  before  he  heard  some  music,  and  per- 
ceived lights  at  a  small  distance  from  shore  ;  this  proved  to  be  a  concert 
which  they  call  Heiva.  As  soon  as  he  approached  the  lights,  be  found 
the  hut  where  Mr.  Cook  and  three  of  his  associates  lay,  and  began  to 
relate  his  melancholy  tale  ;  but,  instead  of  receiving  much  comfort  from 
them,  he  was  told  that  they  had  shared  the  same  fate,  having  lost  their 
stockings  and  jackets.  However,  this  did  not  prevent  their  hearing  out 
the  concert,  which  consisted  of  drums,  flutes,  and  several  voices,  after 
which  they  retned  to  rest. 

Some  Indians  from  a  neighbouring  island,  to  which  Captain  Wallis 
gave  the  name  of  Duke  of  York's  Island,  informed  them  of  more  than 
twenty  islands  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Otaheite.  They  now  began  to 
make  necessary  preparations  for  the  transit  of  Venus,  and  Mr.  Cook  sent 
out  two  parties  to  make  observations  from  different  spots,  that  in  case 
they  failed  at  Otaheite  they  might  succeed  elsewhere.  And  on  the  1st 
of  June,  the  next  Saturday  being  the  day  of  the  transit,  they  sent  the 
long-boat  to  Eimayo,  having  on  board  Mr.  Gore,  Mr.  Monkhouse,  and 
Mr.  Sporing,  a  friend  of  Mr.  Banks  ;  each  furnished  with  necessary  in- 
struments by  Mr.  Green.  * 

In  a  morning's  excursion  Mr.  Banks  met  several  of  the  natives,  who 
were  itinerant  musicians,  and  the  place  of  the  evening's  rendezvous  being 
known,  all  the  English  gentlemen  went  thither  to  partake  of  the  diver- 
sion. Their  instruments  were  flutes  and  drums,  and  a  great  number  of 
the  Indians  were  got  together  upon  the  occasion.  The  drummers  sung 
to  the  music,  and  lo  the  astonishment  of  Mr.  Banks  and  the  rest  of  his 
companions,  they  found  that  they  were  the  chief  subject  of  the  minstrels* 
lays.  These  songs  must,  therefore,  have  been  extemporaneous,  the  re- 
wards whereof  were  such  necessaries  as  they  required.  An  iron  coal- 
rake  for  the  oven  being  stolen  in  the  night  of  the  14th,  with  many  other 
things,  the  captain  judged  it  of  consequence  to  put  an  end  to  these  prao»- 
tices,  by  making  it  their  common  interest  to  prevent  it.  He  had  already 
given  strict  orders,  that  the  sentinels  should  not  fire  upon  them,  even  if 
detected  in  the  fact.  About  twenty-seven  of  their  double  canoes  were 
lust  come  in  with  cargoes  of  fish,  which  the  captain  seized,  and  then  gave 
notice,  that  unless  the  rake,  and  all  the  other  things  which  had  at  diffe- 
rent times  been  stolen,  were  returned,  the  vessels  should  be  burnt.  He 
had,  indeed,  no  such  design,  as  will  appear  by  the  event.  The  menace 
produced  no  other  effect  than  the  restitution  of  the  rake,  all  the  other 
things  remaining  in  their  possession  ;  at  length  the  captain  thought  pro- 
per to  give  up  the  cargoes,  as  the  innocent  natives  were  in  great  distress 
for  want  of  them  ;  and  at  last,  to  prevent  confusion  from  the  difficulty  of 
ascertaining  to  whom  the  different  lots  belonged,  he  promised  also  to 
release  the  canoes. 

On  the  19th,  while  the  canoes  were  detained  by  the  captain,  Oberea 
paid  the  gentlemen  a  visit ;  she  came  from  Tootahah's  palace  in  a  double 
canoe,  and  brought  with  her  a  hog,  bread  fruit,  and  other  presents,  among 
which  was  a  dog  ;  but  none  of  the  things  that  had  been  stolen  :  these 
she  pleaded  had  been  taken  away  by  her  gallant  Obadee,  for  which  she 
had  beaten  him.     She  did  not,  however,  seem  to  think  her  story  deserved 


234  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

credit,  but  appeared  at  first  much  terrified,  though  she  surmounted  her 
fears  with  much  fortitude  ;  and  was  desirous  of  sleeping  with  her  atten- 
dants in  Mr.  Banks's  tent ;  but  this  being  refused,  she  was  obliged  to  pass 
the  night  in  her  canoe.  The  captain  declined  accepting  of  her  presents, 
at  which  she  seemed  very  sorrowful.  The  next  morning  she  returned 
to  the  fort,  and  Captain  Cook,  having  altered  his  mind,  accepted  them. 
Two  of  her  attendants  were  very  earnest  in  getting  themselves  husbands, 
in  which  they  succeeded,  by  means  of  the  surgeon  and  one  of  the  lieu- 
tenants. Dogs  are  esteemed  here  more  delicate  than  pork,  as  those  bred 
to  be  eaten  taste  no  animal  food,  but  live  entirely  upon  vegetables,  and 
the  experiment  was  tried.  Tupia  undertook  to  kill  and  dress  one,  which 
he  did,  by  making  a  hole  in  the  ground  and  baking  him.  It  was  agreed 
by  every  one  to  be  a  very  good  dish. 

They  v/ere  visited  on  the  21st,  at  the  fort,  by  many  of  the  natives,  and 
among  the  rest  Oamo,  a  chief  of  several  districts  on  the  island,  whom  they 
had  never  before  seen,  who  brought  with  him  a  hog.  This  chief  was 
treated  with  great  respect  by  the  natives,  and  was  accompanied  by  a  boy 
and  a  young  woman.  The  boy  was  carried  upon  a  man's  back,  though 
very  able  to  walk.  Oberea  and  some  others  of  tlie  Indians  went  out  of  the 
fort  to  meet  them,  their  heads  and  bodies  being  first  uncovered  as  low  as 
the  waist.  This  was  considered  as  a  mark  of  respect  not  noticed  before, 
but  judged  it  was  usually  shown  to  persons  of  distinguished  rank  among 
them.  Oamo  entered  the  tent,  but  the  young  woman,  who  was  about 
sixteen,  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  accompany  him,  though  she  seem- 
ed to  combat  with  her  curiosity  and  inclination.  Dr.  Solander  took  the 
youth  by  the  hand,  and  conducted  him  in  ;  but  the  natives  without,  who 
had  prevented  the  girl's  entrance,  soon  found  means  to  get  him  out  again. 
The  curiosity  of  the  gentlemen  being  excited  from  these  circumstances, 
they  made  inquiry  who  these  strangers  were,  and  were  informed,  that 
Oamo  was  Oberea's  husband,  but  that  by  mutual  consent  they  had  been 
for  a  considerable  time  separated  ;  and  that  the  youth  and  girl  were  their 
offspring.  The  boy  was  named  Terridiri,  and  was  heir-apparent  to  the 
sovereignty  of  the  island  ;  and  he  was  to  espouse  his  sister  as  soon  as  he 
had  attained  a  proper  age.  The  present  sovereign  being  a  minor,  called 
Outou,  and  son  of  Whappai ;  Whappai,  Oamo,  and  Tootahah,  were  all 
brothers  ;  Whappai  was  the  senior,  and  Oamo  the  next  ;  wherefore, 
Whappai  having  no  child  but  Outou,  Terridiri,  son  of  Oamo,  was  heir 
to  the  sovereignty.  To  us  it  will  appear  singular,  that  a  boy  should  reign 
during  the  life  of  his  father  ;  but  in  the  Island  of  Otaheite  a  boy  succeeds 
to  his  father's  authority  and  title  as  soon  as  he  is  born  :  when  a  regent 
is  elected,  v/hich  office  usually  falls  upon  the  father,  till  the  boy  becomes 
of  age ;  at  this  time,  however,  the  election  had  fallen  upon  his  uncle 
Tootahah,  on  account  of  his  warlike  exploits.  Oamo  was  very  inquisitive 
with  respect  to  the  English,  and  by  his  questions  he  appeared  a  man  of 
understanding  and  penetration. 

June  26th,  the  captain  set  out  in  the  pinnace,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Banks, 
to  circumnavigate  the  island.  They  sailed  to  the  eastward,  and  in  the 
forenoon  went  on  shore  on  a  part  of  the  island  under  the  government  of  Ahio, 
a  young  chief  who  had  often  visited  them  at  the  tents.  They  landed  in 
a  district  which  was  governed  by  a  chief  named  Maraitata,  the  burying 
place  of  men,  and  his  father  was  called  Pahairede,  the  stealer  of  boats. 
Notwithstanding  their  names  were  so  ominous,  they  gave  the  party  a  very 
civil  reception,  furnished  them  with  provisions,  and  sold  them  a  large  hog 
for  a  hatchet.    Toward  the  southernmost  part  of  the  island  they  found  a 


JAMES  COOK.  235 

good  harbour,  formed  by  a  reef,  and  the  circumjacent  country  is  remarka- 
bly fruitful.  They  landed  again  a  little  farther  to  the  east.  Mathiabo, 
the  chief,  with  whom  they  had  no  acquaintance,  nor  had  ever  seen  before, 
soon  came  to  them,  and  supplied  them  with  cocoa  nuts  and  bread  fruit. 
They  were  now  near  the  district  named  Paparra,  govered  by  Oamo  and 
Oberea,  where  they  intended  to  spend  the  oight.  Mr.  Banks  and  his 
company  landed  about  an  hour  before  it  was  dark,  and  found  they  were 
both  set  out  to  pay  a  visit  at  the  fort.  They,  nevertheless,  slept  at  the 
house  of  Oberea,  which,  though  not  large,  was  very  neat ;  no  inhabitant 
but  her  father  was  now  in  possession  of  it,  who  showed  them  much 
civility.  The  gentlemen  of  the  Endeavour,  it  has  been  observed,  did  not 
find  Oberea  possessed  of  the  same  power  as  when  the  Dolphin  was  at 
this  place,  and  they  were  now  informed  of  the  cause.  The  way  from  her 
house  to  the  Moral  was  by  the  sea-side,  and  they  observed,  in  all  places 
as  they  passed  along,  a  great  number  of  human  bones.  Inquiry  being 
made  into  the  cause  of  this,  they  were  informed  that,  about  four  or  five 
months  before  Captain  Cook's  arrival,  the  inhabitants  of  Tiarrabou,  the 
peninsula  to  the  south-east,  made  a  descent  here,  and  slew  many  of  the 
people,  whose  bones  were  those  that  were  seen  upon  the  coast :  that  here- 
upon Oberea  and  Oamo,  who  then  held  the  government  for  his  son,  had 
fled  and  taken  refuge  in  the  mounlfeins  ;  and  that  the  victors  destroyed 
all  the  houses  and  pillaged  the  country.  Mr.  Banks  was  also  informed, 
that  the  turkey  and  goose  which  he  had  seen  in  the  district  of  Mathiabo 
were  among  the  booty  ;  this  afforded  a  reason  for  their  being  found  where 
the  Dolphin  had  little  or  no  correspondence  ;  and  the  jaw-bones  being 
mentioned,  which  had  been  seen  hanging  in  a  hotse,  he  was  informed  that 
they  had  likewise  been  carried  off  as  trophies  ;  the  jaw-bones  of  their 
enemies  being  considered  by  the  natives  of  this  island  as  great  a  mark  of 
triumph  as  scalps  arc  by  the  Indians  of  North  America. 

July  1st,  returned  to  the  fort  at  Port  Royal  Harbour  ;  having  discovered 
the  island,  both  peninsulas  included,  to  be  about  100  miles  iii  circum- 
ference. 

They  now  began  to  make  preparations  for  their  departure  ;  but,  before 
they  set  sail,  they  had  another  visit  from  Oamo,  Oberea,  and  their  son  and 
daughter.  The  10th,  two  marines  being  missing,  an  inquiry  was  made 
after  them,  when  the  Indians  declared  they  did  not  propose  returning, 
having  each  taken  a  wife.  In  consequence  of  which  it  was  intimated  to 
several  of  the  chiefs  who  were  in  the  fort  with  their  women,  among  whom 
were  Tubora  Tumaida,  Tomio,  and  Oberea,  that  they  would  not  be  suf- 
fered to  quit  it  till  the  deserters  were  produced.  Mr.  Hicks  was  imme- 
diately despatched  in  the  long-boat,  with  several  men,  for  them ;  at  the 
same  time  Captain  Cook  told  Tootahah  that  it  was  incumbent  on  him  to 
assist  them  with  some  of  his  people,  and  to  give  orders,  in  his  name, 
that  the  men  should  be  set  at  liberty,  for  that  he  should  expect  him  to 
answer  for  the  event.  Tootahah  immediately  comphed,  and  this  party 
recovered  the  men  without  any  opposition. 

Tupia,  a  very  friendly  native,  had  been  prime  minister  of  Oberea  when 
she  was  at  the  pinnacle  of  her  authority  ;  he  was  also  the  principal  priest 
of  the  island,  and  likewise  versed  in  navigation,  and  was  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  the  number,  situation,  inhabitants,  and  produce  of  the  ad- 
jacent islands.  He  had  often  testified  a  desire  to  go  with  them  ;  and  on 
the  12th,  in  the  morning,  came  on  board  with  a  boy  about  twelve  years 
of  age,  his  servant,  named  Tayota. 

The  ship  now  was  surrounded  by  numberless  canoes,  which  contained 


336  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

the  inferior  natives.  They  weighed  anchor  about  twelve.  Tupia  sup* 
ported  himself  in  this  scene  with  a  becoming  fortitude  ;  tears  flowed  front 
his  eyes,  but  the  effort  that  he  made  to  conceal  them  did  him  additional 
honour.  He  went  with  Mr.  Banks  to  the  mast-head,  where  he  continued 
waving  his  hand  to  the  canoes  as  long  as  they  remained  visible. 

July  the  13th,  after  leaving  the  Island  of  Otaheite,  sailed  with  a  gentle 
breeze,  and  were  informed  by  Tupia  that  four  islands,  which  he  called 
Huaheine,  Ulietea,  Otaha,  and  Bolabola,  were  at  the  distance  of  about 
one  or  two  days'  sail,  and  that  hogs,  fowls,  and  other  refreshments,  which 
had  lately  been  scarce,  were  to  begot  there  in  abundance.  They  ac- 
cordingly steered  in  search  of  these  islands,  and  on  the  15th  discovered 
Huaheine.  Several  canoes  immediately  put  off,  and  the  King  of  Hua- 
heine and  his  queen  went  on  board.  Astonishment  was  testified  by  their 
majesties  at  everything  shown  them.  The  former,  whose  name  was 
Oree,  made  a  proposal  to  exchange  names  with  Captain  Cook,  which  was 
readily  assented  to.  The  custom  of  exchanging  names  is  very  prevalent 
in  this  island,  and  is  considered  as  a  mark  of  friendship.  They  found  the 
people  here  nearly  similar  to  those  of  Otaheite  in  almost  every  circum- 
stance, except,  if  Tupia  might  be  credited,  they  were  not  addicted  to 
thieving.  The  19th,  they  carried  some  hatchets  with  them,  with  which 
they  procured  three  very  large  hogs.  As  they  proposed  to  sail  in  the 
afternoon,  the  king,  accompanied  by  some  others  of  the  natives,  came  on 
board  to  take  his  leave,  when  his  majesty  received  from  Captain  Cook  a 
small  pewter  plate,  with  an  inscription.  This  island  is  situated  in  the 
latitude  of  16  degrees  43  minutes  south,  longitude  150  degrees  52  minutes 
west,  distant  from  Otaheite  about  thirty  leagues,  and  is  about  twenty 
miles  in  circumference. 

From  Huaheine  they  sailed  to  Ulietea.  Next  morning,  by  the  direction 
of  Tupia,  they  anchored  in  a  bay  formed  by  a  reef,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  island.  The  captain,  Mr.  Banks,  and  some  other  gentlemen,  now 
went  on  shore,  accompanied  by  Tupia  ;  after  which,  Captain  Cook  took 
possession  of  this  and  the  adjacent  islands  in  the  name  of  the  King  ot 
Great  Britain. 

On  the  25th  they  were  within  a  league  or  two  of  Otaha.  This  island 
appeared  to  be  more  barren  than  Ulietea,  but  the  produce  was  much  the 
same.  The  natives  paid  them  the  compliment  they  used  toward  their 
own  kings,  by  uncovering  their  shoulders,  and  wrapping  their  clothes 
round  their  bodies,  taking  care  no  one  should  omit  doing  the  same. 

On  the  29th  made  sail  to  the  northward,  and  at  eight  o'clock  next 
morning  were  close  under  the  high  craggy  peak  of  Bolabola.  The  next 
morning  they  discovered  an  island,  which  Tupia  called  Morua.  In  the 
afternoon,  finding  themselves  to  windward  of  some  harbours  on  the  west 
side  of  Ulietea,  they  intended  to  put  into  one,  in  order  to  stop  a  leak 
which  they  had  sprung  in  the  powder-room,  and  to  take  in  some  addi- 
tional ballast.  On  the  5th  some  hogs  and  fowls,  several  pieces  of  cloth, 
many  of  them  fifty  or  sixty  yards  in  length,  together  with  a  quantity  of 
plantains  and  cocoa  nuts,  were  sent  to  Captain  Cook  as  presents,  from 
the  Earee  rahie  of  the  Island  of  Bolabola,  accompanied  with  a  message, 
that  he  was  then  on  the  island,  and  intended  waiting  on  the  captain  the 
next  day.  Next  day  he  did  not  visit  them  agreeable  to  promise.  After 
dinner,  they  set  out  to  pay  the  king  a  visit  on  shore,  as  he  did  not  ihink 
proper  to  come  on  board.  As  this  man  was  the  Earee  rahie  of  the  Bola- 
bola men,  who  had  conquered  this,  and  were  the  dread  of  all  the  neigh- 
bouring islands,  they  were  disappointed,  instead  of  finding  a  vigorous, 


JAMES  COOK.  237 

etiteirpnsing  young  chief,  to  see  a  poor  decrepid  old  man,  half  blind,  and 
sinking  under  the  weight  of  age  and  infirmities.  He  received  them  with- 
out either  that  state  or  ceremony  which  they  had  hitherto  met  with  among 
the  other  chiefs.  They  did  not  go  on  shore  at  Bolabola  ;  but,  after 
giving  the  general  name  of  the  Society  Islands  to  the  Islands  of  Huaheine, 
Ulietea,  Bolabola,  Otaha,  and  Morua,  which  lie  between  the  latitude  of 
16  degrees  10  minutes  and  16  degrees  65  minutes  south,  they  pursued 
their  course,  standing  southwardly  lor  an  island,  to  which  they  were 
directed  by  Tupia,  at  above  100  leagues  distant,  which  they  discovered 
on  Sunday,  the  loth,  and  were  informed  by  him  that  it  was  called  Ohitezoa. 

On  the  7th  of  October  discovered  land  at  west  by  north,  and  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  next  day  came  to  an  anchor  opposite  the  mouth  of  a  little 
river,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  shore  ;  but,  notwithstanding  all 
their  efforts,  a  friendly  intercourse  could  not  be  established  ;  while,  un- 
fortunately, some  of  the  natives  were  killed  in  different  unavoidable 
skirmishes. 

The  Endeavour  now  passed  a  small  island,  white  and  high,  and,  as  it 
appeared  quite  barren,  was  named  Bare  Island.  On  the  17th  Captain 
Cook  gave  the  name  of  Cape  Turn-again  to  a  headland,  in  latitude  40 
degrees  34  minutes  south,  longitude  182  degrees  55  minutes  west.  Be- 
fore the  Endeavour  touched  at  New  Zealand,  which  this  was,  it  was  not 
certainly  known  whether  it  was  an  island  or  part  of  the  continent.  On 
the  20th  anchored  in  a  bay  about  two  leagues  north  of  Gable  End  Fore- 
land. Two  chiefs,  who  came  on  board,  received  presents  of  linen,  which 
gave  much  satisfaction;  but  they  did  not  hold  spike-nails  in  such  estima- 
tion as  the  inhabitants  of  some  of  the  islands.  Sailing  to  the  northward, 
they  fell  in  with  a  small  island  named  East  Island.  When  the  Endea- 
vour had  doubled  the  cape,  many  villages  appeared  in  view,  and  the 
adjacent  land  appeared  cultivated.  On  the  evening  of  the  30th  Lieu- 
tenant Hicks  discovered  a  bay,  to  which  his  name  was  given.  Next 
morning,  about  nine,  several  canoes  came  off  from  shore,  with  a  number 
of  armed  men,  who  appeared  to  have  hostile  intentions.  Before  these 
had  reached  the  ship,  another  canoe,  larger  than  any  that  had  yet  been 
seen,  full  of  armed  Indians,  came  off,  and  made  toward  the  Endeavour 
with  great  expedition.  The  captain  now  judging  it  expedient  to  prevent, 
if  possible,  their  attacking  him,  ordered  a  gun  to  be  fired  over  their  heads. 
In  searching  for  a  convenient  anchoring  place,  the  captain  saw  a  village 
upon  a  high  point,  near  the  head  of  the  bay,  fortified  like  some  others 
already  seen  before.  Having  met  with  a  convenient  place,  near  where 
the  Endeavour  lay,  he  returned  to  the  ship,  and  sailed  to  that  spot,  where 
he  cast  anchor.  Two  fortified  villages  being  descried,  the  captain,  with 
Mr.  Banks  and  Dr.  Solander,  went  to  examine  them  :  the  smallest  was 
romantically  situated  upon  a  rock,  which  was  arched  ;  this  village  did 
not  consist  of  above  five  or  six  houses,  fenced  round.  There  was  but 
one  path,  very  narrow,  that  conducted  to  it.  The  gentlemen  were  in- 
vited by  the  inhabitants  to  pay  them  a  visit,  but  not  having  time  to  spare, 
took  another  route,  after  making  presents  to  the  females.  A  body  of 
men,  women,  and  children,  now  approached  the  gentlemen,  who  proved 
to  be  the  inhabitants  of  another  town,  which  they  proposed  visiting. 
They  gave  many  testimonials  of  their  friendly  dispositions,  among  others, 
they  uttered  the  word  Heromai,  which,  according  to  Tupia's  interpreta- 
tion, implied  ])eace,  and  appeared  much  satisfied  when  informed  the 
centlemen  intended  visiting  their  habitations.  Their  town  was  named 
Wharretouwa  ;  it  is  seated  on  a  point  of  land  over  the  sea,  on  the  north 


238  VOYAGES  ROXTND  THE  WORLD. 

side  of  the  bay  ;  it  was  paled  round,  and  defended  by  a  double  ditch. 
Within  the  ditch  a  stage  is  erected  for  defending  the  place  in  case  of 
an  attack  ;  near  this  stage,  which  they  call  Porava,  quantities  of  dart* 
and  stones  are  deposited,  to  be  in  readiness  to  repel  the  assailants.  There 
is  another  stage  to  command  the  path  that  leads  to  the  town,  and  there 
are  also  some  outworks.  Upon  the  whole,  the  place  seemed  calculated  to 
hold  out  a  considerable  time  against  an  enemy  armed  with  no  other  wea- 
pons than  those  of  the  inhabitants.  It  appeared,  however,  deficient  in 
water  for  a  siege.  They  eat,  instead  of  bread,  fern-root,  which  was  here 
in  great  plenty,  with  dried  fish.  Very  little  land  is  here  cultivated,  sweet 
potatoes  and  yams  being  the  only  vegetables  they  found.  There  are  two 
rocks  near  the  foot  of  this  fortification,  both  separated  from  the  maia 
land ;  they  are  very  small,  nevertheless  they  are  not  without  dwelling- 
houses  and  little  fortifications.  They  throw  stones  in  their  engagements 
with  their  hands,  being  destitute  of  a  sling,  and  those  and  lances  are  their 
only  missile  weapons  ;  they  have,  besides  the  pattoo-pattoo,  a  club  about 
five  feet  in  length,  and  another  shorter.  They  sailed  from  this  bay, 
after  taking  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain, 
on  the  16th  November. 

On  the  18th  the  Endeavour  steered  between  the  main  and  an  island 
which  seemed  very  fertile,  and  as  extensive  as  Ulietea.  Many  canoes 
filled  with  Indians  came  alongside,  and  the  Indians  sung  their  war-song ;. 
but  the  Endeavour's  people  paying  them  no  attention,  they  threw  a  voUey 
of  stones,  and  then  paddled  away. 

The  26th  Captain  Cook  continued  his  course  along  shore  to  the  north. 
Two  canoes  came  up,  and  some  of  the  Indians  came  on  board,  when 
they  trafficked  very  fairly.  Two  larger  canoes  soon  after  followed,  and 
coming  up,  the  people  in  them  hailed  the  others,  when  they  conferred 
together,  and  afterward  came  alongside  of  the  ship.  The  last  two  canoes 
were  finely  ornamented  with  carving,  and  the  people,  who  appeared  to  be 
of  higher  rank,  were  armed  with  various  weapons  ;  they  held  in  high 
estimation  their  pattoo-pattoos,  made  of  stone  and  whalebone,  and  they 
had  ribs  of  whale,  with  ornaments  of  dogs'  hair,  which  were  very  curious. 
These  people  were  of  a  darker  complexion  than  those  to  the  southward, 
and  their  faces  were  stained  blacker  with  what  they  call  amoco  ;  and 
their  thighs  were  striped  with  it,  very  small  interstices  of  the  flesh  being 
left  visible.  Though  they  all  used  the  black  amoco,  they  applied  it  to 
different  parts  and  in  various  forms.  Most  of  them  had  the  figure  of 
volutes  on  their  lips,  and  one  woman,  in  particular,  was  curiously  marked 
upon  various  parts  of  her  body.  These  Indians  seemed  the  superiors  of 
the  others  ;  they  were,  nevertheless,  not  free  from  the  vice  of  pilfering ; 
for  one  having  agreed  to  barler  a  weapon  for  a  piece  of  cloth,  he  was  no 
sooner  in  possession  of  the  cloth,  than  he  paddled  away  without  paying 
the  price  of  it ;  but  a  musket  being  fired,  he  came  back  and  returned  the 
cloth.     All  the  canoes  then  returned  ashore. 

For  several  days  the  vessel  lost  ground.  On  the  29th,  having  wea- 
thered Cape  Bret,  they  bore  away  to  leeward,  and  got  into  a  large  bay, 
where  they  anchored  on  the  south-west  side  of  several  islands  ;  after 
which  the  ship  was  surrounded  by  thirty-three  large  canoes,  containing 
near  three  hundred  Indians,  all  armed.  Some  were  admitted  on  board, 
and  Captain  Cook  gave  a  piece  of  broadcloth  to  one  of  the  chiefs,  and 
some  small  presents  to  the  others.  They  traded  peaceably  for  some 
time,  being  terrified  at  the  fire-arms,  the  effect  of  which  they  were  not 
unacquainted  with  ;  but  while  the  captain  was  at  dinner,  on  a  signal  given 


JAMES  COOK.  239 

by  one  of  the  chiefs,  all  the  Indians  quitted  the  ship,  and  attempted 
to  tow  away  the  buoy ;  a  musket  was  now  fired  over  them,  but  it  pro- 
duced no  effect ;  small  shot  was  then  fired,  but  did  not  reach  them.  A 
musket  loaded  with  ball  was,  therefore,  ordered  to  be  fired,  and  Ote- 
goowgoow,  son  of  one  of  the  chiefs,  was  wounded  in  the  thigh,  which 
induced  them  immediately  to  throw  the  buoy  overboard.  To  complete 
their  confusion,  a  round  shot  was  fired,  which  reached  the  shore,  and  as 
soon  as  they  landed  they  ran  in  search  of  it. 

On  the  5th  they  weighed  anchor.  The  bay  which  they  had  left  was 
called  the  Bay  of  Islands,  on  account  of  the  number  it  contains.  The 
captain  named  another  large  inlet  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound,  and  took 
possession  of  it  in  the  name  and  for  the  use  of  his  majesty,  when  a  bottle 
of  wine  was  drank  to  the  queen's  health.  On  the  1 2th  of  March  discovered 
a  bay,  which  Captain  Cook  called  Dusky  Bay  ;  and  it  is  remarkable  for 
having  five  high  peaked  rocks  lying  off  it,  which  look  like  the  thumb  and 
four  fingers  of  a  man's  hand  ;  whence  it  was  denominated  Point  Five 
Fingers.  It  was  now  resolved  to  return  by  the  East  Indies,  and  with 
that  view  to  steer  for  the  east  coast  of  New  Holland,  and  then  follow 
the  direction  of  that  coast  to  the  northward.  They  sailed  March  31st, 
and  taking  their  departure  from  an  eastern  point,  called  it  Cape  Farewell. 
The  bay  from  which  they  sailed  was  named  Admiralty  Bay,  and  the  two 
capes  thereof  Cape  Stephens  and  Cape  Jackson,  the  names  of  the 
secretaries  to  the  admiralty. 

The  men  of  this  country  are  as  large  as  the  largest  Europeans.  Their 
complexion  is  brown,  but  little  more  so  than  that  of  a  Spaniard.  They 
are  full  of  flesh,  but  not  lazy  and  luxurious,  and  are  stout  and  well 
shaped.  The  women's  voices  are  singularly  soft,  which,  as  the  dress  of 
both  sexes  is  similar,  chiefly  distinguishes  them  from  the  men.  The  lat- 
ter are  active  in  a  high  degree,  their  hair  black,  their  teeth  white  and 
even.  The  features  of  both  sexes  are  regular  ;  they  enjoy  perfect  health, 
and  live  to  a  very  advanced  age.  They  are  of  the  gentlest  dispositions, 
and  treat  each  other  with  the  utmost  kindness ;  but  they  are  perpetually 
at  war,  every  httle  district  being  at  enmity  with  all  the  rest.  This  is 
owing,  most  probably,  to  the  want  of  food  in  sufficient  quantities,  at 
certain  times.  They  have  neither  black  cattle,  sheep,  hogs,  nor  goats ; 
so  that  their  chief  food  being  fish,  and  that  not  at  all  times  to  be  obtained, 
they  are  in  danger  of  dying  through  hunger.  They  have  a  few,  and  but 
a  very  few,  dogs  ;  and  when  no  fish  is  to  be  got,  they  have  only  vege- 
tables, such  as  yams  and  potatoes,  to  feed  on  ;  and  if,  by  any  accident, 
these  fail  them,  their  situation  must  be  deplorable.  This  will  account 
for  their  shocking  custom  of  eating  the  bodies  which  are  slain  in  battle. 

The  canoes  of  this  country  are  long  and  narrow.  The  large  sort 
seem  built  for  war,  and  will  hold  from  thirty  to  one  hundred  men.  One 
of  these,  at  Tolaga,  measured  near  seventy  feet  in  length,  six  in  width, 
four  in  depth,  sharp  at  the  bottom,  and  consisted  of  three  lengths,  about 
two  or  three  inches  thick,  and  tied  firmly  together  with  strong  plaiting  : 
each  side  was  formed  of  one  entire  plank,  about  twelve  inches  broad, 
and  about  an  inch  and  a  half  thick,  which  were  fitted  to  the  bottom  part 
with  equal  strength  and  ingenuity.  Some  few  at  Mercury  Bay  and 
Opoorage,  are  made  of  one  trunk  of  wood,  hollowed  by  fire  ;'but  by  far 
the  greater  part  are  built  after  the  plan  above  described.  The  smaller 
boats,  used  in  fishing,  are  adorned  at  head  and  stern  with  the  figure  of  a 
man,  the  eyes  of  which  are  composed  of  the  white  shells  of  sea-ears,  a 
tongue  of  enormous  size  is  thrust  out  of  the  mouth,  and  the  whole  face 


240  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

is  a  picture  of  the  most  absolute  deformity.  The  grander  canoes,  which 
are  intended  for  war.  are  ornamented  with  open-work,  and  covered  with 
fringes  of  black  feathers,  which  give  the  whole  an  air  of  perfect  elegance  : 
the  side-boards,  which  are  carved  in  a  rude  manner,  are  embellished  with 
tufts  of  white  feathers.  They  are  rowed  with  a  kind  of  paddle  between 
five  and  six  feet  in  length,  the  blade  of  which  is  a  long  oval,  gradually 
decreasing  till  it  reaches  the  handle  ;  and  the  velocity  with  which  they 
row  with  these  paddles  is  surprising.  Their  sails  are  composed  of  a 
kind  of  mat  or  netting,  extended  between  two  upright  poles,  one  of  which 
is  fixed  on  each  side.  Two  ropes,  fastened  to  the  top  of  each  pole,  serve 
instead  of  sheete.  The  vessels  are  steered  by  two  men,  having  each  a 
paddle,  and  sitting  in  the  stern  ;  but  they  can  only  sail  before  the  wind, 
in  which  direction  they  move  with  considerable  swiftness. 

Their  tillage  of  the  ground  is  excellent,  owing  to  the  necessity  of 
cultivating  or  running  the  risk  of  starving.  At  Tegadoo  their  crops  were 
just  put  into  the  ground,  and  the  surface  of  the  field  was  as  smooth  as  a 
garden  ;  the  roots  were  ranged  in  regular  lines,  and  to  every  root  there 
remained  a  hillock.  A  long  narrow  stake,  sharpened  to  an  edge  at  the 
bottom,  with  a  piece  fixed  across  a  little  above  it  for  the  convenience  of 
driving  it  into  the  ground  with  the  foot,  supplies  the  place  both  of  plough 
and  spade.  The  spil  being  light,  their  work  is  not  very  laborious,  and 
with  this  instrument  alone  they  will  turn  up  ground  of  six  or  seven  acres 
in  extent. 

Their  warlike  weapons  are  spears,  darts,  battle-axes,  and  the  pattoo- 
pattoo.  The  spear,  which  is  pointed  at  each  end,  is  about  elxteen  feet  in 
length,  and  held  in  the  middle.  Whether  they  fight  in  boats  or  on  shore, 
the  battle  is  hand  to  hand ;  they  trust  chiefly  in  the  pattoo-pattoo,  which 
is  fastened  to  the  wrist  by  means  of  a  strong  strap,  that  it  may  not  be 
wrenched  out  of  the  hand.  These  are  worn  in  the  girdles  of  people  of  a 
superior  rank,  as  a  military  ornament.  They  have  a  kind  of  staff  of 
distinction,  which  is  carried  by  the  principal  warriors  :  it  is  formed  of  a 
whale's  rib,  is  quite  white,  and  adorned  with  carvings,  feathers,  and  the 
hair  of  their  dogs  ;  and  they  sometimes  carried  a  stick  six  feet  long, 
inlaid  with  shells,  and  otherwise  adorned  like  the  military  staff.  This 
honourable  mark  of  distinction  was  commonly  borne  by  the  old  men. 
When  they  came  to  attack  the  English,  there  was  usually  one  or  more 
thus  distinguished  in  each  canoe.  It  was  their  custom  to  stop  at  about 
fifty  or  sixty  yards  distance  from  the  ship,  when  the  chief,  arising  from 
his  seat,  and  putting  on  a  garment  of  dog's  skin,  used  to  direct  them  how 
to  proceed.  When  they  were  too  far  from  the  ship  to  reach  it  either 
with  stone  or  lance,  they  cried  out,  Haromai,  haromai,  liarre  lUa  a  patoo- 
■patoo  ege. — "  Come  to  us,  come  on  shore,  and  we  will  kill  you  all  with 
our  pattoo-pattoos."  During  these  menaces  they  approached  the  ship, 
till  thev  came  alongside,  talking  peaceably  at  intervals,  and  answering 
whatever  questions  were  asked.  Then  again  their  threats  were  renewed, 
till,  imagining  the  sailors  were  afraid  of  them,  they  began  the  war  song 
and  dance — an  engagement  always  followed,  and  sometimes  continued 
till  the  firing  of  small  shot  repulsed  them  ;  at  others,  only  till  they  had 
satiated  their  vengeance  by  throwing  a  few  stones  on  board  the  ship. 

In  the  war-dance  their  motions  are  numerous,  their  limbs  are  distorted, 
and  their  faces  are  agitated.  They  accompany  this  dance  with  a  song, 
which  is  sung  in  concert ;  every  strain  ending  with  a  loud  and  deep 
siffh.  There  is  an  activity  and  vigour  in  their  dancing  which  is  truly 
admirable  ;  and  their  idea  of  keeping  time  in  music  is  such,  that  sixty  or 


JAMES  COOK.  241 

eighty  padtlles  will  strike  at  once  against  the  sides  of  their  boats,  and 
make  only  one  report. 

They  fortify  all  their  hippahs,  or  towns,  of  which  there  are  several 
between  the  Bay  of  Plenty  and  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound.  In  these  the 
inhabitants  of  those  parts  constantly  reside  ;  but  near  Tolaga,  Tegadoo, 
Hawk's  Bay,  and  Poverty  Bay,  there  are  no  towns,  only  single  houses  at 
a  considerable  distance  apart.  On  the  sides  of  the  hills  were  erected 
long  stages,  supplied  with  darts  and  stones,  which  were  thought  to  be 
retreats  in  time  of  battle,  and  on  which,  froni  their  elevated  situation, 
they  can  combat  the  enemy  with  these  weapons  to  great  advantage.  In 
these  repositories  they  store  their  dried  fish  and  fern-roots. 

They  sailed  from  Cape  Farewell  on  the  31st  of  March,  1770.  On  the  19th 
of  April  they  discovered  land  four  or  five  leagues  distant,  the  southernmost 
part  of  which  was  called  Point  Hicks,  in  compliment  to  Mr.  Hicks,  the 
first  lieutenant,  who  made  the  discovery.  Intending  to  land,  they  took 
Tupla  with  them  ;  and  had  no  sooner  come  near  the  shore,  than  two  men 
advanced,  as  if  to  dispute  their  setting  foot  on  shore.  They  were  each 
armed  with  different  weapons.  They  called  aloud,  in  a  harsh  tone,  warra 
loarra  wai,  the  meaning  of  which  Tupia  did  not  understand.  The  cap- 
tain threw  them  beads,  nails,  and  other  trifles,  which  they  took  up,  and 
seemed  to  be  delighted  with.  He  then  made  signs  that  he  wanted 
water,  and  used  every  possible  means  to  convince  them  that  no  injury 
was  intended.  They  made  signs  to  the  boat's  crew  to  land,  on  which 
they  put  the  boat  in ;  but  had  no  sooner  done  so,  than  the  two  Indians 
came  again  to  oppose  them.  One  of  them  threw  a  stone  at  the  boat,  on 
which  the  captain  ordered  a  musket  loaded  with  small  shot  to  be  fired, 
which  wounding  the  eldest  in  the  legs,  he  retired  hastily  to  one  of  their 
houses  which  stood  at  some  httle  distance.  The  people  in  the  boats 
landed,  imagining  that  the  wound  which  this  man  had  received  would 
put  an  end  to  the  contest ;  in  this,  however,  they  were  mistaken,  for  he 
immediately  returned  with  a  kind  of  shield,  of  an  oval  figure,  painted 
white  in  the  middle,  with  two  holes  in  it  to  see  through.  They  advanced 
with  great  intrepidity,  and  both  discharged  their  lances  at  the  boat's 
crew,  but  did  not  wound  any  one.  Another  musket  was  now  fired,  on 
which  they  threw  another  lance  and  then  took  to  their  heels.  The  crew 
now  went  up  to  the  huts,  in  one  of  which  they  found  children^  who  had 
secreted  themselves  behind  some  bark.  They  looked  at  them,  but 
vyithout  ^eir  knowing  they  had  been  seen  ;  and  having  thrown  some 
pieces  of  cloth,  ribands,  beads,  and  other  things  into  the  hut,  took 
several  of  their  lances,  and  re- embarked  into  the  boat.  The  name  of 
Botany  Bay  was  given  to  this  place,  from  the  large  number  of  plants 
collected  by  Messrs.  Banks  and  Solander. 

They  sailed  hence  the  6th  of  May,  1770 ;  at  noon  were  oflf  a  harbour 
which  was  called  Port  Jackson,  and  in  the  evening  near  a  bay,  to  which 
they  gave  the  name  of  Broken  Bay.  On  the  10th  passed  a  low  rocky 
point,  which  was  named  Point  Stephens,  near  which  was  an  inlet, 
denominated  Port  Stephens. 

Coastmg  this  shore  till  the  10th  of  June,  an  accident  had  nearly 
terminated  their  voyage  fatally.  The  ship  struck  on  a  rock  in  the  night, 
at  some  distance  from  the  land,  and  made  so  much  water  as  to  threaten 
to  sink  every  moment,  which  was  only  prevented  by  great  exertions  and 
the  lavour  of  Providence,  for  nothing  else  could  have  saved  them.  After 
some  httle  examination,  they  found  a  small  harbour  to  look  at  the  ship's 
bottom,  and   there  found  that  the  only  thing  which  prevented  her  from 

21 


242  vorAGES  round  thb  woiili>. 

sinking  was  a  large  piece  of  rock,  broken  off  and  sticking  m  the  largest 
hole,  which  impeded  the  entrance  of  the  water.  Here  they  procured 
some  refreshments,  landed  the  sick  and  stores,  made  a  variety  of  excur- 
«ons  by  land  and  water  to  the  neighbouring  places,  and,  for  the  first  time, 
saw  the  animal  now  known  as  the  kangaroo. 

Three  Indians  visited  Tiipia's  tent  on  the  I2th  of  July,  and  after 
remaining  some  time,  one  of  them  went  for  two  others,  whom  he  intro- 
duced by  name.  Some  fish  was  offered,  but  they  seemed  not  much  to 
regard  it,  and,  after  eating  a  Uttle,  gave  the  remainder  to  Mr.  Banks's 
dog.  Some  ribands  given  them,  to  which  niedak  were  suspended 
round  their  necks,  were  so  changed  by  smoke  tl"iat  it  was  difficult  to- 
judge  what  colour  they  had  been  ;  and  the  smoke  had  made  their  skins 
look  darker  than  their  natural  colour  ;  from  whence  it  was  thought  that 
they  slept  close  to  their  fires,  as  a  preventiTe  against  the  sting  of  the 
moscheioes.  Both  the  strangers  had  bones  through  their  noses,  and  a 
piece  of  bark  tied  over  the  forehead  ;  and  one  had  an  ornament  of  strings- 
round  his  arm,  and  an  elegant  necklace  made  of  shells.  Their  canoe 
was  about  ten  feet  long,  and  calculated  to  hold  four  persons,  and  when  iri 
shallow  water  they  moved  it  by  means  of  poles.  Their  lances  had  only 
a  single  point,  and  some  of  them  were  barbed  with  fish-bones.  On  the 
14th  Mr.  Gore  shot  one  of  the  mouse-coloured  animals  abovementioned. 
It  chanced  to  be  a  young  one,  weighing  not  more  than  thirty-eight 
pounds  ;  but  when  full  grown  they  are  as  large  as  a  sheep.  The  skin  of 
this  beast  is  covered  with  short  fur,  and  is  of  a  dark  mouse-colour  ;  the 
head  and  ears  are  somewhat  like  those  of  a  hare  :  this  animal  was 
dressed  for  dinner,  and  proved  fine  eating.  The  ship's  crew  fed  on  turtle 
almost  every  day,  which  were  finer  than  those  eaten  in  England,  owing 
to  their  being  killed  before  their  na-tural  fat  was  wasted  and  their  juice* 
changed. 

They  sailed  hence  on  the  13th  of  August,  1770,  and  got  through  one 
one  of  the  channels  in  the  reef;  happy  to  be  once  more  in  an  open  sea, 
after  having  been  surrounded  by  dreadful  shoals  and  rocks  for  near  three 
months,  during  all  which  run  they  had  been  obliged  to  keep  sounding 
without  the  intermission  of  a  single  minute ;  a  circumstance  which  it  is 
supposed  never  happened  to  any  ship  but  the  Endeavour.  On  the  14th 
steered  a  westerly  course  to  get  sight  of  the  land,  that  a  passage  between 
that  land  and  New  Guinea  might  not  be  missed,  if  there  wa.s  any  such 
passage.  This  day  the  boats  went  out  to  fish,  and  met  with  great  suc- 
cess, particularly  in  catching  cockles,  some  of  which  were  of  such  an 
amazing  size  as  to  require  the  strength  of  two  men  to  move  them. 

Previous  to  their  leaving,  Captain  Cook  displayed  the  English  colours, 
and  took  possession  of  all  the  eastern  coast  of  the  country,  from  the 
3Sth  degree  of  south  latitude  to  the  present  spot,  by  the  name  of  New 
South  Wales,  for  his  sovereign  the  King  of  Great  Britain  j  upon  which 
three  vollevs  of  small  arms  were  fired,  and  answered  by  an  equal  number 
from  the  Endeavour.  They  were  now  at  the  northern  extremity  of  New 
Holland,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  viewing  the  open  sea  to  the  west- 
ward. The  north-east  entrance  of  the  passage  is  formed  by  the  main 
land  of  New  Holland  and  by  a  number  of  islands,  which  took  the  name 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales's  Islands,  and  which  Captain  Cook  imagines  may 
reach  to  New  Guinea.  To  the  passage  sailed  through  Captain  Cook 
gave  the  name  of  Endeavour  Straits. 

New  South  Wales  is  a  much  larger  country  than  any  hitherto  known, 
not  deemed  a  continent,  being  larger  than  all  Europe  ;  which  i&  proved 


JAMES  COOK.  243 

by  the  Endeavour  having  coasted  more  than  two  thousand  miles,  even  if 
her  track  was  reduced  to  a  straight  line.  It  does  not  appear,  much  in- 
habited ;  not  above  thirty  persons  being  ever  seen  together  but  once, 
when  these  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages  got  together  on  a  rock  off  Botany 
Bay  to  view  the  ship.  The  men  are  well  made,  of  the  middle  size,  and 
active  in  a  high  degree  ;  but  their  voices  are  soft  even  to  effeminacy. 
Their  colour  is  chocolate,  but  so  covered  with  dirt  as  to  look  almost  as 
black  as  negroes.  The  women  were  seen  only  at  a  distance,  as  the  men 
constantly  left  them  behind.  The  chief  ornament  of  these  people  is  the 
bone  thrust  through  the  nose,  which  the  sailors  whimsically  termed  their 
spritsail-yard  :  but  besides  this  they  wore  necklaces  formed  of  shells,  a 
small  cord  tied  twice  or  thrice  round  the  arm,  between  the  elbow  and  the 
shoulder,  and  a  string  of  plaited  human  hair  round  the  waist.  Their  hut3 
are  built  with  small  rods,  the  two  ends  of  which  were  fi.xed  into  the 
ground,  so  as  to  form  the  figure  of  an  oven,  and  covered  with  pieces  of 
bark  and  palm  leaves.  The  door,  which  is  only  high  enough  to  sit  up- 
right in,  is  opposite  to  the  fire-place  ;  they  sleep  with  their  heels  turned 
up  toward  their  heads,  and  even  in  this  posture  the  hut  will  not  hold  more 
than  four  people.  They  feed  on  the  kangaroo,  on  several  kinds  of  birds, 
on  yams,  and  various  kinds  of  fruit ;  but  the  prmcipal  article  of  subsis- 
tence is  fish.  Their  method  of  producing  fire  is  singular  ;  having  wrought 
one  end  of  a  stick  into  an  obtuse  point,  they  place  this  point  upon  a  piece 
of  dry  wood,  and  turning  the  upright  stick  very  fast  backward  and  for- 
ward between  their  hands,  the  fire  is  soon  produced. 

They  make  use  of  spears  or  lances  ;  but  these  are  very  differently 
constructed  :  those  seen  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  country  had  four 
prongs,  pointed  with  bone,  and  barbed  ;  those  in  the  northern  parts  have 
only  one  point ;  the  shafts  of  different  lengths,  from  eight  to  fourteen 
'feet,  are  made  of  the  stalk  of  a  plant  not  unlike  a  bulrush,  and  consist 
of  several  joints  let  into  each  other,  and  tied  together.  They  make  use 
of  shields  made  of  the  bark  of  trees,  of  about  eighteen  inches  broad 
and  three  feet  long.  Many  trees  were  seen  from  which  the  bark  had 
been  taken,  and  others  on  which  the  shields  were  cut  out,  but  not  taken 
away.  The  canoes  are  formed  by  hollowing  out  the  trunk  of  a  tree  ; 
and  it  was  conjectured,  that  this  operation  must  have  been  performed 
by  fire,  as  they  did  not  appe:\r  to  have  any  instrument  proper  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  canoes  are  in  length  about  fourteen  feet,  and  so  narrow  that 
thoy  would  be  frequently  overset,  but  are  provided  with  outriggers.  The 
natives  row  them  with  paddles,  using  both  hands  in  that  employment. 

They  iiow  held  a  northward  course,  within  sight  of  laud,  till  the  3d  of 
September  On  the  Gth  passed  two  small  islands  ;  on  the  9th  they  saw 
what  had  the  appearance  of  land,  and  the  ne.\t  morning  were  convinced 
it  was  Timor  Laoet.  On  the  16th  they  had  sight  of  the  little  ishmd  called 
Rotte,  and  the  same  day  saw  tlie  Island  of  Savu,  at  a  distance  to  the 
southward  of  Timor,  where,  having  obtained  necessary  refreshments, 
Captain  Cook  prepared  again  for  sailing. 

Savu  is  situated  in  10  degrees  35  minutes  south  latitude,  and  237  de- 
grees 30  minutes  west  longitude,  and  has  hitherto  been  very  little  known, 
or  very  imperfectly  described.  Its  length  is  between  twenty  and  thirty 
miles.  The  harbour  jn  which  the  ship  lay  was  called  Seba,  from  a  dis- 
trict of  the  country  so  denominated  ;  and  there  are  two  other  bays  on 
different  parts  of  the  island. 

The  natives  are  rather  below  the  middle  stature,  their  hair  black  and 
straight,  and  persons  of  all  ranks,  as  well  those  that  are  exposed  to  the 


244  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

weather  as  those  that  are  not,  have  one  general  complexion,  which  is 
dark  biovvo.  The  men  are  well  formed  and  sprightly,  and  their  fealures 
difTer  much  from  each  other  :  the  women,  on  the  contrary,  have  all  one 
set  of  features,  and  are  very  short  and  broad  built.  The  dress  of  the 
former  consists  of  two  pieces  of  cotton  cloth,  one  of  which  is  bound  round 
the  middle,  and  the  lower  edge  being  drawn  pretty  tight  between  the 
legs,  the  upper  edge  is  left  loose,  so  as  to  form  a  kind  of  pocket,  in  which 
they  carry  knives  and  other  things  :  the  other  piece  being  passed  under 
the  former,  on  the  back  of  the  wearer,  the  ends  of  it  are  carried  over  the 
shoulders,  and  tacked  into  the  pocket  before.  Tiie  women  draw  the 
upper  edge  of  tho  piece  found  the  waist  tight,  while  the  lower,  dropping 
to  the  knees,  makrs  a  kind  of  petticoat :  the  other  piece  of  cloth  is  fas- 
tened across  the  breast  and 'under  the  arms.  This  cloth,,  which  is  manu- 
factured by  the  natives,  is  died  blue  while  in  the  yarn. 

The  island  consists  of  five  divisions,  each  of  which  has  a  raja,  or  chief 
governor,  of  its  own.  These  are  called  Timo,  Massara,  Ilegeeua,  Laai, 
and  Scba.  It  was  o.i  this  last  division  that  our  English  adventurers  went 
on  shore,  the  raja  of  which  was  between  thirty  and  forty  yeais  of  age, 
and  remarkable  for  his  corpulency.  He  governs  his  people  with  the  most 
absolute  authority,  but  takes  on  him  very  little  of  the  parade  or  pomp  of 
royalty.  The  inhabitants  are  divided  into  five  ranks  ;  the  rajas,  the  land- 
owners, manufacturer?,  labourers,  and  slaves  ;  the  land-owueis  are  re- 
spected in  proportion  to  the  extent  of  their  lards  and  the  nu:uber  of 
their  ijlaves,  which  last  are  bought  and  sold  with  the  estates  to  which 
they  belong ;  but  when  a  slave  is  bought  separately,  a  fat  hog  is  the 
price  of  the  purchase.  Though  a  man  may  sell  his  slave  in  this  maniier, 
or  convey  him  with  his  lands,  yet  his  power  over  him  extends  no  farther, 
for  he  must  not  even  strike  him  without  the  raja's  permission.  A  few 
years  ago  the  Dutch  East  India  company  made  an  agree. nent  with  the 
several  rajas  of  the  island,  by  which  it  was  covenanted,  thst  a  quantity 
of  rice,  maize,  and  calevances  should  be  annually  fumishcil  to  the  Dutch, 
who,  in  return,  supply  the  rajas  with  arrack,  cutlery  wares,  linen,  silk, 
and  some  other  things.  Small  vessels,  each  of  which  is  manned  by  ten 
Indians,  are  sent  from  Timor  to  bring  away  the  maize  and  calevances, 
and  a  ship  whi.'di  brings  the  articles  which  are  furnished  by  the  Dutch 
receives  the  rice  on  board  once  a  year  ;  and  there  being  three  h?iys  on 
the  coast,  this  vessel  anchors  in  each  of  them  in  its  turn. 

The  Endeavour  sailed  the  2l6t  of  September,  1770,  and  bent  her  co:jrse 
westward.  In  the  afternoon  of  this  day  a  little  flat  island  was  discovered 
in  iO  degrees  47  niinuies  south  latitude,  and  238  degrees  28  minutes 
west  longitude,  which  has  not  been  laid  down  in  any  of  the  charts  hitherto 
published.  They  made  con.siderable  way,  till  at  length,  by  the  assistance 
of  the  sea  breezes,  they  came  to  an  anchor  in  the  road  of  Batavia.  At 
this  place  they  found  a  number  of  large  Dutch  vessels,  the  Harcourt 
East  Indiaman  from  England,  which  had  lost  her  passage  to  China,  and 
two  ships  belonging  to  the  private  trade  of  our  India  company. 

Tupia  had  been  till  this  time  very  dangerou.sly  ill ;  Mr  Banks  now 
sent  for  him  to  his  house,  in  the  hope  that  he  might  recover  his  health. 
While  in  the  ship,  and  even  after  he  was  put  into  the  boat,  he  was  indis- 
posed and  low-spirited  iri  the  utmost  degree  ;  but  the  moment  he  came 
into  the  town,  his  whole  frame  appeared  reanimated.'  The  houses,  the  car- 
riages, the  people,  and  many  other  objects,  were  totally  new  to  him,  and 
astonishment  look  possession  of  his  features  at  sights  so  wonderful ;  but 
if  Tupia  was  astonished  at  the  scen--^,  his  boy,  Tayota,  was  perfectly  en- 


JAMES  COOK.  245 

raptured,  dancing  along  the  street  in  an  ecstasy  of  joy,  and  examining  the 
several  objects  as  they  presented  themselves  with  the  most  earnest  in- 
quisitiveness  and  curiosity.  Nothing  struck  Tupia  so  much  as  the  variety 
of  dresses  worn  by  the  inhabitants  of  Batavia  :  he  inquired  the  reason, 
and  being  informed  that  the  people  were  of  a  variety  of  nations,  and  that 
all  were  dressed  according  to  the  mode  of  their  own  country,  he  requested 
permission  to  follow  the  fashion  :  this  request  being  readily  complied 
with,  a  person  was  despatched  to  the  ship  for  some  South  Sea  cloth,  with 
which  he  soon  clothed  himself  in  the  dress  of  the  inhabitants  of  Otaheite. 

After  little  more  than  a  week,  the  ill  effects  of  the  climate  began  to  be 
severely  felt.  Dr.  Solander  and  Mr.  Banks  were  indisposed  with  fevers  •; 
Mr.  Banks's  two  servants  were  exceedingly  ill  ;  the  Indian  boy,  Tayota, 
had  an  inflammation  on  his  lungs  ;  and  Tupia  was  so  bad,  that  his  life 
was  despaired  of.  Tayota  paid  the  debt  of  nature  on  the  9th  of  this 
month  :  and  poor  Tupia  fell  a  victim  to  the  ravages  of  his  disorder,  and 
lo  his  grief  for  the  deceased  Tayota.  When  the  latter  was  first  seized 
with  the  fatal  disorder,  he  seemed  sensible  of  his  approaching  end,  and 
Frequently  said  to  those  about  him,  Tyau  mate,  "  My  friends,  I  am  dying  :" 
he  was  very  tractable,  and  took  any  medicines  that  were  offered  to  him  ; 
they  were  both  buried  in  the  Island  of  Edam.  Since  the  arrival  of  the 
ship,  every  person  belonging  to  her  had  been  ill,  except  the  sailmaker, 
who  was  more  than  seventy  years  old  ;  yet  this  man  got  drunk  every  day 
while  they  remained  there.  The  Endeavour  buried  seven  of  her  people 
— Tupia  and  his  boy,  three  of  the  sailors,  the  servant  of  Mr.  Green,  the 
astronomer,  and  the  surgeon  ;  and,  at  the  time  of  the  vessel's  sailing, 
forty  of  the  crew  were  sick,  and  the  rest  so  enfeebled  by  their  late  illness 
as  to  be  scarcely  able  to  do  their  duty. 

The  town  of  Batavia  is  situated  in  6  degrees  10  minutes  south  latitude, 
and  106  degrees  50  minutes  east  longitude.  It  is  built  on  the  bank  of 
a  larwe  bay,  something  more  than  twenty  miles  from  the  Strait  of  Sunda, 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Island  of  Java,  in  low  boggy  ground.  Several 
small  rivers,  which  rise  forty  miles  up  the  country  in  the  mountains  of 
Blaeuen  Berg,  discharge  themselves  into  the  sea  at  this  place,  having  first 
intersected  the  town  in  different  directions.  There  are  wide  canals  of 
nearly  stagnated  water  in  almost  every  street,  and  as  the  banks  of  these 
canals  are  planted  with  rows  of  trees,  the  effect  is  very  agreeable  ;  but 
they  combine  to  render  the  air  pestilential. 

The  method  of  building  their  houses  seems  to  have  been  taught  them 
by  the  climate.  On  the  ground  floor  there  is  no  room  but  a  large  hall,  a 
corner  of  which  is  parted  off  for  the  transaction  of  business  ;  the  hall  has 
two  doors,  which  are  commonly  left  open,  and  are  opposite  each  other, 
80  that  the  air  passts  freely  through  the  room,  in  the  middle  of  which 
there  is  a  court,  which  at  once  increases  the  draft  of  air  and  affords  light 
to  the  hall  ;  the  stairs,  v/hich  are  at  one  corner,  lead  to  large  and  lofty 
apartments  above.  The  female  slaves  are  not  permitted  to  sit  in  any 
place  but  in  the  alcove  formed  by  the  court ;  and  this  is  the  usual  dining 
place  of  the  family. 

The  environs  of  the  town  have  a  very  pleasing  appearance,  and  would, 
in  almost  any  other  country,  be  an  enviable  situation.  Gardens  and 
houses  occupy  the  country  for  several  miles.  For  the  space  of  more  than 
thirty  miles  around  the  land  is  totally  flat,  except  in  two  places,  on  one 
of  which  the  governor's  country  seat  is  built,  and  on  the  other  they  hold 
a  large  market ;  but  neither  of  these  places  are  higher  than  ten  yards 
from  the  level  of  the  plain.     At  forty  miles  from  the  town  the  land  rises 

21* 


246  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

into  hills,  and  the  air  is  purified  in  a  great  degree  :  to  this  distance  in 
valids  are  sent  by  their  pii^^sicians,  when  every  other  prospect  of  recovery 
has  failed,  and  the  experiment  succeeds  in  alatost  every  instance  ;  but 
they  no  sooner  return  to  town  than  their  former  disorders  recur. 

The  fruits  of  this  country  are  near  forty  in  number,  and  of  each  of  these 
there  are  several  species.  Pine-apples  grow  in  such  abundance  that  they 
vnHy  be  purchase,  at  the  first  hand,  for  the  value  of  an  English  farthing. 
The  Batavians  strew  an  immense  number  of  flowers  about  their  houses, 
and  are  almost  alw^ys  burning  some  aromatic  woods  and  gums.  Thu 
sweet-scented  flowers  of  thi.s  country  are  very  numerous,  many  of  which 
are  totally  unknown  in  England. 

The  Island  of  Java  produces  goats,  sheep,  hogs,  buffaloes,  and  horses. 
The  quantity  of  fish  taken  is  astonishingly  great,  and  all  the  kinds  are 
fine  food,  except  a  few  which  are  very  scarce  ;  yet  such  is  the  pride  of 
the  inhabitants,  that  these  few  scarce  sorts  are  sold  at  high  rales,  while 
those  that  are  plentiful  arc  sold  for  a  mere  trifle,  nor  are  they  eaten  but  by 
the  slaves.  There  is  abundance  of  poultry,  as  excellent  of  their  kinds  as 
tliose  of  England  ;  turkeys  are  immoderately  dear,  and  pigeons  not  much 
less  so  ;  but  geese,  ducks,  and  fine  large  fowls  are  altogether  as  cheap. 

On  the  27th  of  December,  1770,  the  Endeavour  left  the  road  of  Bata- 
via,  and,  as  many  of  the  ship's  crew,  who  had  been  very  ill  while  at 
Batavia,  were  now  become  much  worse,  the  vessel  was  brought  to  an 
anchor  in  the  afternoon  of  the  5th,  near  Princess  Island.  A  stay  of  ten 
days  occurred  here,  during  which  they  purchased  vegetables  of  various 
kinds,  fowls,  deer,  and  turtle ;  the  anchor  was  weighed,  and  the  vessel 
once  more  put  to  sea. 

After  a  passage  in  which  they  lost  twenty-three  more  officers  and  men, 
the  ship  was  brought  to  an  anchor  oflf  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  on  the 
15rh  of  March,  1771.  The  captain  repaired  instantly  to  the  governor, 
who  said,  that  such  refreshments  as  the  country  supplied  should  he  cheer- 
fully granted  him  ;  on  which  a  house  was  hired  for  the  sick,  who  were 
to  have  board  and  lodging  for  two  shillings  a  day,  each  person. 

Cape  Town  consists  of  near  a  thousand  brick-houses,  the  outsidea  of 
which  being  generally  plastered,  they  have  a  very  pleasing  appearance. 
There  is  a  canal  in  the  main  street,  with  two  rows  of  oak  trees  oa  its  bor- 
ders, which  are  in  a  more  flourishing  state  than  the  other  trees  of  this 
country  ;  the  streets,  which  cross  each  other  at  right  angles,  are  very 
spacious  and  handsome.  The  inhabitants  are  chiefly  Dutch,  or  of  Dutch 
extraction  :  the  women  are  pleasing  in  a  high  degree.  The  air  is  so 
pure  and  salubrious,  that  a  sick  person,  who  goes  thither  from  Europe, 
often  recovers  his  health  in  a  short  time  ;  but  those  who  bring  diseases 
from  the  East  Indies  have  not  an  equal  chance  of  recovery.  Although 
the  country  is  naturally  so  barren  as  scarcely  to  produce  anything,  yet 
the  industry  of  its  inhabitants  has  so  eff'ectually  combated  the  hand  of 
nature,  that  there  are  few  places  where  the  necessaries  of  life  are  more 
plentiful ;  and  even  what  are  generally  deemed  luxuries  are  by  no  means 
scarce.  The  Conetantia  wine  is  known  to  be  excellent,  but  the  genuine 
sort  is  made  only  at  one  particular  vineyard,  a  few  miles  from  the  town. 
The  gardens  produce  many  sorts  of  European  and  Indian  fruits,  and 
almost  all  the  common  kind  of  vegetables.  The  cultivated  fields  yield 
wheat  and  barley  of  equal  quality  with  that  of  England.  The  sheep  hava 
tails  of  a  very  extraordinary  size,  many  of  which  weigh  upward  of  a 
dozen  pounds  ;  the  meat  of  this  animal,  as  well  as  of  the  ox,  is  very  fine 
food  :  the  wool  of  the  sheep  is  rather  of  the  hairy  kind,  and  the  horns  of 


Ji.3WES  COOK.  247 

the  black  cattle  spread  much  wider  than  those  of  England,  while  the  beast 
himself  is  handsomer  and  lighter  made.  The  cheese  has  a  very  indiffe- 
rent flavour,  but  the  butter  is  extremely  good.  The  pork  is  nearly  the 
same  as  that  of  Europe  ;  and  there  is  an  abundance  of  goats,  but  the  inha- 
bitants do  not  cat  their  flesh.  The  country  abounds  in  hares,  altogether 
like  those  of  England  ;  there  are  several  species  of  the  antelope,  plenty 
of  bustards,  and  two  kinds  of  quails. 

The  Dutch  company  have  a  garden  at  the  extremity  of  the  high  street, 
which  is  more  than  half  a  mile  in  length,  in  the  centre  walk  of  which  are 
a  number  of  fine  oak  trees.  A  small  part  of  this  garden  is  covered  with 
botanical  plants,  but  all  the  rest  is  allotted  to  the  production  of  the  com- 
mon vegetables  for  the  kitchen  :  the  whole  is  divided  into  squares  by  the 
form  of  its  walks,  and  each  square  is  fenced  in  by  oaks  cut  into  small 
hedges.  There  is  a  menagerie  of  beasts  and  birds,  many  of  them  known 
in  Europe,  at  the  upper  end  of  this  garden ;  and  among  the  rest  is  the 
kadou,  a  beast  not  less  than  a  horse,  which  has  those  curious  spiral 
horns  that  have  frequently  found  a  place  in  the  cabinets  of  the  curious. 

The  native  inhabitants  of  this  country  are  usually  dressed  in  a  sheep- 
skin thrown  across  the  shoulders,  and  a  Uttle  pouch  before,  to  which  is 
fixed  a  kind  of  belt,  ornamented  with  bits  of  copper  and  beads  :  round 
the  waists  of  the  women  is  abroad  piece  of  leather,  and  rings  of  the  same 
round  their  ancles  ;  a  few  wear  a  kind  of  shoe  made  of  the  bark  of  a  tree, 
but  the  major  part  go  barefooted ;  both  sexes  adorn  themselves  with 
bracelets  and  necklaces  made  of  beads.  None  of  these  people  reside  at 
a  less  distance  than  four  days'  journey  from  Cape  Town,  except  a  num- 
ber of  the  poorer  sort,  who  look  after  the  cattle  belonging  to  the  Dutch 
farmers,  and  are  employed  in  various  other  menial  offices.  Most  of  the 
Hottentots  speak  the  Dutch  language,  without  anything  remarkable  in 
their  manner  ;  yet,  when  they  converse  in  their  native  language,  they 
frequently  stop,  and  make  a  clucking  with  their  tongues,  which  has  a 
most  singular  and  ridiculous  effect  to  the  ears  of  a  stranger ;  and,  exclu- 
sive of  this  clucking,  their  language  itself  is  scarcely  sounded  articulately. 
They  are  modest  to  the  utmost  degree,  and,  though  fond  of  singing  and 
dancing,  can  hardly  be  prevailed  on  to  divert  themselves  with  their  favou- 
rite amusements  before  strangers :  both  their  singing  and  dancing  are 
alternately  quick  and  slow  in  the  utmost  extreme.  Some  understand  the 
art  of  smelting  and  preparing  copper,  with  which  they  make  plates,  and 
wear  them  on  their  foreheads  as  an  article  of  finery.  They  are  also  capa- 
ble of  making  knives,  superior  to  those  they  can  purchase  of  the  Dutch, 
from  whom  they  procure  the  iron. 

They  are  so  dexterous  in  throwing  stones,  that  they  will  hit  a  mark, 
not  larger  than  a  crown-piece,  at  the  distance  of  a  hundred  yards.  They 
are  likewise  expert  in  the  use  of  arrows  and  of  the  lance  called  an  assa- 
gay,  the  points  of  which  they  poison,  sometimes  with  the  venom  of  a 
serpent,  and  sometimes  with  the  juice  of  particular  herbs,  so  that  a  wound 
received  from  either  is  almost  always  mortal. 

Quitting  the  cape,  they  came  to  an  anchor  off  the  Island  of  St.  Helena 
May  1st,  and  on  the  4th  the  Endeavour  sailed  from  the  road  of  St.  Helena, 
together  with  the  Portland  man-of-war  and  several  sail  of  Indiamen. 

On  the  23d  lost  sight  of  all  the  ships  in  company,  and  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  same  day  Mr.  Hicks,  the  first  lieutenant^  died  of  a  consumption, 
with  which  he  had  been  afflicted  during  the  whole  voyage.  No  single 
occurrence  worth  recording  happened  from  this  time  till  the  ship  came  to 
an  anchor  in  the  Downs,  on  the  i2th  of  June  following. 


248  VOYAGES  ROUND  Tfl23  WORLD. 


CAPTAIN  COOK'S  SECOND  VOYAGE.— 1772-75, 

(A  second  voyage  being  resolved  upon,  Captain  Cook  was  appointed  to  the 
Resolution,  and  Captain  Furneaux,  who  had  been  with  Captain  Wallis,  to 
the  Adventure,  two  ships  which,  from  their  construction,  were  supposed  bet- 
ter adapted  to  the  service  than  any  others.} 

On  the  13th  of  July,  1772,  the  two  ships  sailed  from  Plymouth  Sound  : 
and  on  the  evening  of  the  29th  anchored  in  Funchiale  Road,  in  the  Island 
of  Madeira. 

On  the  9th  of  August  made  the  Island  of  Bonavista.  The  next  day 
passed  the  Isle  of  Mayo  on  our  right ;  and  the  same  evening  anchored  in 
Port  Praya,  in  the  Island  of  St.  Jago.  On  the  29th  of  October  they 
made  the  land  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Having  finished  their  business 
here,  and  taken  leave  of  the  governor  and  some  others  of  the  chief  officers, 
•who,  with  very  obliging  readiness,  had  given  every  assistance,  on  the  22d 
of  November  weiglied,  with  the  wind  at  north-by-west.  In  the  morning 
of  the  10th  of  December  made  the  signal  for  the  Adventure  to  make  sail 
and  lead.  At  eight  o'clock  saw  an  island  of  ice  to  the  westward,  being 
then  in  the  latitude  of  50  degiees  40  minutes  south,  and  longitude  2 
degrees  east  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

On  the  9^th  of  February,  when  the  weather  cleared  up,  they  could  see 
several  leagues  round,  and  found  that  the  Adventure  was  not  within  the 
limits  of  their  horizon.  At  ten  o'clock  of  the  25th  of  March,  the  land 
of  New  Zealand  was  seen  from  the  mast-head,  and  at  noon  from  the 
deck,  extending  from  north-east-by-east  to  east,  distant  ten  leagues.  After 
running  about  two  leagues  up  Dusky  Bay,  and  passing  several  of  the  isles 
which  lay  in  it,  they  brought-to,  hoisted  out  two  boats,  and  anchored  in 
fifty  fathoms  water,  so  near  the  shore  as  to  reach  it  with  a  hawsei. 
This  was  on  Friday,  the  26th  of  March,  at  three  in  the  afternoon,  after 
having  been  117  days  at  sea,  in  which  time  they  had  sailed  36G0  leagues, 
without  having  once  sight  of  land. 

On  the  27th,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  got  under  sail  with  a  light 
breeze  at  south-west,  and  working  over  to  Pickersgill  harbour,  entered  it 
by  a  channel  scarcely  twice  the  width  of  the  ship  ;  and  in  a  small  creek 
moored  head  and  stern,  so  near  the  shore  as  to  reach  it  with  a  brow  or 
stage,  which  nature  had  in  a  manner  prepared  in  a  large  tree,  whose  end  or 
top  reached  the  gunwale.  In  the  evening  they  had  a  short  interview  with 
three  of  the  natives,  one  man  and  two  women.  They  were  the  first  that 
discovered  themselves  on  the  north-east  point  of  Indian  Island,  named 
so  on  this  occasion  ;  the  man  hallooed  to  them.  He  stood  with  his  club 
in  his  hand  upon  the  point  of  a  rock,  and  behind,  at  the  skirts  of  the 
wood,  stood  the  two  women,  each  with  a  spear.  The  man  could  not 
help  discovering  great  signs  of  fear  when  they  approached  the  rock  with 
the  boat.  He,  however,  stood  firm  ;  nor  did  he  move  to  take  up  some 
things  they  threw  him  ashore.  At  length  Captain  Cook  landed,  went 
up  and  embraced  him,  and  presented  him  with  such  articles  as  at  once 
dissipated  his  fears.  Presently  after  they  were  joined  by  the  two  women, 
the  other  gentlemen,  and  some  of  the  seamen.  After  this  they  spent 
about  half  an  hour  in  chit-chat,  little  understood  on  either  side,  in  which 
the  youngeat  of  the  two  women  bore  by  far  the  greatest  share.  This 
occasioned  one  of  the  seamen  to  say,  that  women  did  not  want  tongue 
in  any  part  of  the  world.     Having  fine  geese  left  out  of  those  brought 


JAMES  COOK*  249 

horn  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  they  went  with  them  next  morning  to 
Goose  Cove  (named  so  on  this  account.)  They  chose  this  place,  for 
here  are  no  inhabitants  to  disturb  them  ;  and,  secondly,  here  being  the 
most  food,  they  will  breed,  and  may  in  time  spread  over  the  whole  coun- 
try, and  fully  answer  the  intention  in  leaving  them.  At  nine  o'clock, 
the  11th  of  April,  weighed,  with  a  light  breeze  at  south-east,  and  stood 
out  to  sea. 

The  country  is  exceedingly  mountainous,  not  only  about  Dusky  Bay, 
but  throughout  all  the  southern  part  of  this  western  coast  of  Tavai  Poe- 
nammoo.  But  the  land  bordering  on  the  sea-coast,  and  all  the  islands, 
are  thickly  clothed  with  wood,  almost  down  to  the  water's  edge.  The 
trees  are  of  various  kind?,  such  as  are  common  to  other  parts  of  thi:* 
country,  and  are  fit  for  the  shipwright,  house-carpenter,  cabinet-maker, 
and  many  other  uses.  Except  on  the  River  Thames,  there  is  not  finer 
timber  in  all  New  Zealand.  What  Dusky  Bay  abounds  with  is  fish  ;  a 
boat  with  six  or  eight  men,  with  hooks  and  lines,  caught  daily  sufficient 
to  serve  the  whole  ship's  company.  Of  this  article  the  variety  is  almost 
equal  to  the  plenty. 

The  shell-fish  are  muscles,  cockles,  scallops,  cray-fish,  and  many  other 
sorts.  The  only  amphibiotis  animals  are  seals  ;  these  are  to  be  found 
in  great  numbers  about  this  bay,  on  the  small  rocks  and  isles  near  the  sea- 
coast.  After  leaving  Dusky  Bay,  they  directed  their  course  along-shore 
for  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound,  where  they  expected  to  find  the  Adventure. 
The  wind  having  returned  to  the  west,  they  resumed  their  course  to  the 
east  ;  and  at  daylight  the  next  morning  (being  the  18th)  appeared  off 
Queen  Charlotte's  Sound,  and  discovered  their  consort  the  Adventure 
by  the  signals  she  made,  an  event  which  every  one  felt  with  an  agreeable 
satisfaction.  Early  in  the  morning  of  the  24lh  sent  Mr.  Gilbert,  the 
master,  to  sound  about  the  rock  discovered  in  the  entrance  of  the  sound. 
Cook,  accompanied  by  Captain  Furneaux  and  Mr.  Forsler,  went  in  a 
boat  to  the  west  bay  on  a  shooting  party.  On  their  way,  met  a  large 
canoe,  in  which  were  fourteen  or  fifteen  people.  One  of  the  first  ques- 
tions they  asked  was  for  Tupia,  the  person  brought  from  Otaheite  on  the 
former  voyage  ;  and  they  seemed  to  express  some  concern  when  told  he. 
was  dead.  These  people  made  the  same  inquiry  of  Captain  Furneaux 
when  he  first  arrived,  and,  on  returning  to  the  ship  in  the  evening,  they 
were  told  that  a  canoe  had  been  alongside,  the  people  in  which  seemed 
to  be  strangers,  and  who  also  inquired  for  Tupia.  On  the  2d  of  June, 
the  ships  being  nearly  ready  to  put  to  sea,  they  sent  on  shore,  on  the 
east  side  of  the  sound,  two  goats,  male  and  female.  Captain  Furneaux 
also  put  on  shore,  in  Cannibal  Cove,  a  boar  and  two  breeding  sows  ;  so 
that  they  had  reason  to  hope  this  country  would  in  time  be  slocked  with 
these  animals,  if  not  destroyed  by  the  natives  before  they  became  wild, 
for  afterward  they  will  be  in  no  danger. 

On  the  7th  of  June,  at  four  in  the  morning,  weighed  and  put  to  sea, 
witli  the  Adventure  in  company.  On  the  11th  of  August,  at  daybreak, 
land  was  seen  to  the  south.  This,  upon  a  nearer  approach,  was  found 
to  be  an  island  of  about  two  leagues  in  extent,  in  the  direction  of  north- 
west and  south-east,  and  clothed  with  wood,  above  which  the  cocoa  nut 
trees  showed  their  lofty  heads.  It  hes  in  the  latitude  of  17  degrees  24 
minutea,  longitude  141  degrees  39  minutes  west,  and  was  called,  after 
the  name  of  the  ship,  Resolution.Island. 

At  daybreak,  the  next  morning,  discovered  land  right  ahead,  distant 
about  two  railes.     This  proved  another  of  these  low  or  half-drowned 


250  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLO. 

islands,  or  rather  a  large  coral  shoal  of  about  twenty  leagues  in  circuit. 
A  very  small  part  of  it  was  land,  which  consisted  of  little  isles  ranged 
along  the  north  side,  and  connected  by  sand-banks  and  breakers.  I'his 
island  was  named  after  Captain  Furneaux.  The  next  morning,  at  four 
o'clock,  made  sail,  and  at  daybreak  saw  another  of  these  low  islands, 
situated  in  the  latitude  of  17  degrees  4  minutes,  longitude  144  degrees 
80  minutes  west,  which  obtained  the  name  of  Adventure  Island.  M.  do 
Bougainville  very  properly  calls  this  cluster  of  low  overflowed  isles  the 
Dangerous  Archipelago. 

On  the  15th,  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  saw  Osnaburgh  Island,  or 
Maitea,  discovered  by  Captain  Wallis.  At  daybreak  found  themselves 
not  more  than  half  a  league  from  the  reef  of  Otaheite.  A  number  of  thef 
inhabitants  came  off  in  canoes  from  different  parts,  bringing  a  little  fish, 
a  few  cocoa  nuts,  and  other  fruits,  which  they  exchanged  for  nails,  beads, 
&c.  '  The  most  of  them  knew  Captain  Cook  again,  and  many  inquired 
for  Mr.  Banks  and  others  who  were  there  before  ;  but  not  one  asked 
for  Tupia. 

The  next  morning,  being  the  17th,  they  anchored  in  Oaiti-piha  Bay, 
in  twelve  fathoms  water,  about  two  cablea'  length  from  the  shore.  It 
was  not  till  now  that  any  one  inquired  after  Topia,  and  then  but  two  or 
three.  As  soon  ae  they  learned  the  cause  of  his  death,  they  were  quite 
satisfied  ;  indeed  it  did  not  appear  that  it  would  have  caused  a  moment's 
uneasiness  in  the  breast  of  any  one,  had  his  death  been  occasioned  by 
any  other  means  than  by  sickness  ;  as  little  inquiry  was  made  after 
Autourou,  the  man  who  went  away  with  M.  de  Bougainville.  But  they 
were  continually  asking  for  Mr.  Banks,  and  several  others  who  were  in 
the  former  voyage.  These  people  said,  that  Toutaha,  the  regent  of  tho 
greater  Peninsula  of  Otaheite,  had  been  killed  in  a  battle  which  was 
fought  between  the  two  kingdoms  about  five  months  before,  and  that 
Otoo  was  the  reigning  prince.  Tubourai  Tamaide,  and  several  more 
friends  about  Matavai,  fell  in  this  battle,  as  also  a  great  number  of  com- 
mon people  ;  but  at  present  peace  subsisted  between  the  two  kingdoms. 

Before  they  got  to  an  auf'hor  in  Matavai  Bay,  their  decks  were  crowd- 
ed with  the  natives ;  many  of  whom  the  captain  knew,  and  almost 
all  of  them  knew  him.  On  the  27th  Otoo,  attended  by  a  numerous 
train,  paid  them  a  visit.  •  He  first  sent  into  the  ship  a  large  quantity  of 
cloth,  fruits,  a  hog,  and  two  large  fish  ;  and,  after  some  persuasion,  came 
aboard  himself,  with  his  sister,  a  younger  brother,  and  several  more  of 
his  attendants.  To  all  of  them  were  made  presents  ;  and  after  breakfast 
the  captain  took  th€  king,  his  sister,  and  as  many  more  as  he  had  room 
for,  into  his  boat,  and  carried  them  home  to  Oparee.  Be  had  no  sooner 
landed  than  he  was  met  by  a  venerable  old  lady,  the  .mother  of  the  late 
Toutaha.  She  seized  both  his  hands,  and  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears, 
saying,  Toutaha  Tiyo  no  TcUtee  malty  Toutaha — (Toutaha,  your  friend, 
or  the  friend  of  Cook,  is  dead.)  Captain  Furneaux  presented  the  king 
with  two  fine  goats,  male  and  female,  which,  if  taken  care  of,  will  no 
doubt  multiply.  Soon  after  they  were  conducted  to  the  theatre,  and 
entertained  with  a  dramatic  heava,  or  play,  in  which  were  both  dancing 
and  comedy.  The  performers  were  five  men  and  one  woman,  who  was 
no  less  a  person  than  the  king's  sister.  The  music  consisted  of  three 
drums  only ;  it  lasted  about  an  hour  and  a  half  or  two  hours,  and  upon 
the  whole  was  well  conducted.  It  was  not  possible  to  find  out  the  mean- 
ing of  the  play.  It  apparently  differed  in  nothing,  that  is,  in  the  manner 
ef  a-cting  it,  from  those  at  Uiietea  in  the  former  voyage.     The  dancing- 


JAMES  COOK.  251 

dress  of  the  lady  was  more  elegant  than  any  seen  there,  by  being  decorated 
with  long  tassels,  made  of  feathers,  hanging  from  the  waist  downward. 

On  the  Ist  of  September  the  shipb  unmoored.  Some  hours  before 
they  got  under  sail,  a  young  man,  whose  name  was  Poreo^  came  and  de- 
sired the  captain  would  take  him  with  him  ;  who  consented,  thinking  he 
might  be  of  service  on  some  occasion.  As  soon  as  they  <vere  clear  of  the 
bay,  they  directed  their  course  for  the  Island  of  Huaheine,  and  made  it  the 
next  day.  At  daylight,  in  the  morning  of  the  3d,  made  sail  for  the  harbour  of 
Owharre,  in  which  the  Resolution  anchored  about  nine  o'clock,  in 
twenty-four  fathoms  water.  The  good  old  chief,  Oree,  made  them  a  visit 
early  in  the  mOrnihg  on  the  5th,  together  with  some  of  his  friends,  bring- 
ing a  hog  and  some  fruit,  for  which  they  made  him  a  suitable  return.  He 
carried  his  kindness  so  far,  as  not  to  fail  to  send  every  day  the  very  best 
of  ready-dressed  fruit  and  roots,  and  in  great  plenty.  Biefore  they  quit- 
ted this  island,  Captain  Furneaux  agreed  to  receive  on  board  his  ship  a 
young  man  named  Omai,  a  native  of  Ulietea,  where  he  had  some  pro- 
perty, of  which  he  had  been  dispossessed  by  the  people  of  Bolabola. 

They  now  made  sail  for  Ulietea.  Arriving  off  the  harbour  of  Ohama- 
neno  at  the  close  of  the  day,  they  spent  the  night  making  short  tacks. 
Next  morning  they  paid  a  formal  visit  to  Oreo,  the  chief  of  this  part  of 
the  isle,  carrying  the  necessary  presents.  They  went  through  a  sort  of 
ceremony  at  landing,  but  were  at  once  conducted  to  him.  He  was  seat- 
ed in  his  own  house,  which  stood  near  the  water-side,  where  he  and  his 
friends  received  them  with  great  cordiality.  He  expressed  much  satis- 
faction at  seeing  the  captain  again,  and  desired  they  might  exchange 
names ;  this  is  the  strtJngest  mark  of  friendship  they  can  show  to  a  stran- 
ger. He  inquired  after  Tupia,  and  all  the  gentlemen,  by  name,  who  were 
with  him  when  he  first  visited  the  island. 

After  leaving  Ulietea,  they  steered  to  the  west,  inclining  to  the  south, 
to  get  clear  of  the  tracts  of  former  navigators,  and  to  get  into  the  latitude 
of  the  Islands  of  Middleburg  and  Amsterdam.  At  two  o'clock,  P.  M.,  on 
the  1st  of  October,  made  Middleburg,  bearing  west-south-west.  In  the 
meantime,  two  canoes,  each  conducted  by  two  or  three  men,  came  boldly 
alongside  ;  and  some  of  them  entered  the  ship  without  hesitation.  As 
soon  as  all  were  on  board,  they  made  sail  down  to  Amsterdam.  The 
people  of  this  isle  were  so  little  afraid,  that  some  met  them  in  three 
canoes  about  midway  between  the  two  isles.  Mr.  Forster  and  his  party 
spent  the  day  in  the  country  botanizing;  and  several  of  the  officers  were 
out  shooting.  All  of  them  were  very  civilly  treated  by  the  natives.  They 
had  also  a  brisk  trade  for  bananoes,  cocoa  nuts,  yams,  pigs,  and  fowls  ; 
all  of  which  were  procured  for  nails  and  pieces  of  cloth.  A  boat  from 
each  ship  was  employed  in  trading  ashore,  and  bringing  off  their  cargoes 
as  soon  as  they  were  laden,  which  was  generally  in  a  short  time.  By 
this  method  they  got  cheaper,  and  with  less  trouble,  a  good  quantity  of 
fruit,  as  well  as  other  refreshments,  from  people  who  had  no  canoes  to 
carry  them  off  to  the  ships. 

These  islands  were  first  discovered  by  Captain  Tasman,  in  January, 
1643,  and  by  him  called  Amsterdam  and  Middleburg.  But  the  former  is 
called  by  the  natives  Ton-ga-ta-boo,  and  the  latter  Ea-oo-wee.  Middle- 
burg, or  Eaoowee,  which  is  the  southernmost,  is  about  ten  leagues  in 
circuit,  and  of  a  height  .»iifticient  to  be  seen  twelve  leagues.  The  skirts 
of  this  isle  *re  mostly  taken  up  in  the  plantations  ;  the  south-west  and 
north-west  sides  especially.  The  interior  parts  are  but  little  cultivated, 
though  very  fit  for  cultivation.     The  anchorage,  named  English  Road, 


252  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

being  the  first  who  anchored  there,  is  on  the  north-west  aide,  in  latitude 
21  degrees  20  minutes  and  30  seconds  south.  The  island  is  shaped  some- 
thing like  an  isosceles  triangle,  the  longest  sides  whereof  are  seven  leagues 
each,  and  the  shortest  four.  It  lies  nearly  in  the  direction  of  east-south- 
east and  west-north-west  ;  is  nearly  all  of  an  equal  height,  rather  low, 
not  exceeding  sixty  or  eighty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea 

Amsterdam,  or  Tongataboo,  is  wholly  laid  out  in  plantations,  in  which 
are  planted  some  of  the  richest  productions  of  nature,  such  as  bread  fruit, 
cocoa  nut  trees,  plantains,  bananoss^  shaddocks,  yams,  and  some  other 
roots,  sugar-cane,  and  a  fruit  like  a  nectarine,  called  by  Fighegea,  and  at 
Otaheite  Aheeya;  m  short,  here  are  most  of  the  articles  which  the  Society 
Islands  produce,  besides  some  which  they  have  not. 

The  lanes  or  roads  necessary  for  travelling  are  laid  out  in  so  judicious 
a  manner,  as  to  open  a  free  and  easy  communication  from  one  part  of  the 
island  to  the  other.  Here  are  no  towns  or  villages  ;  most  of  the  houses 
are  built  in  the  plantations,  with  no  other  order  than  what  conveniency 
requires ;  they  are  neatly  constructed,  but  do  not  exceed  those  in  the 
other  isles.  The  materials  of  which  they  are  built  are  the  same  ;  and 
some  little  variation  in  the  disposition  of  the  framing  is  all  the  difference 
in  their  construction.  They  saw  no  domestic  animals  but  hogs  and  fowls  : 
the  former  are  of  the  same  sort  as  at  the  other  isles  in  this  sea  ;  but  the 
latter  are  far  superior,  being  as  large  as  any  in  Europe,  and  their  flesh 
equally  good,  if  not  better.  They  saw  no  dogs,  and  beheve  they  have 
none,  as  they  were  exceedingly  desirous  of  those  on  board.  Cook's  friend, 
Attago,  was  complimented  with  a  dog  and  a  bitch,  the  one  from  New 
Zealand,  the  other  from  Ulietea.  The  name  of  a  dog  with  them  is  kooree 
or  gooree,  the  same  as  at  New  Zealand,  which  shows  that  they  are  not 
wholly  strangers  to  them. 

The  two  vessels  which  compose  the  double  canoe  are  each  about  sixty 
or  seventy  feet  long,  and  four  or  five  broad  in  the  middle,  and  each  end 
terminates  nearly  in  a  point.  Two  such  vessels  are  fastened  together, 
parallel  to  each  other,  about  six  or  seven  feet  asunder,  by  strong  cross- 
beams secured  by  bandages  to  the  upper  part  of  the  risings.  Over  these 
beams  and  others  which  are  supported  by  stanchions  lixed  on  the  bodies 
of  the  canoss,  is  laid  a  boarded  platform.  All  the  parts  which  compose 
the  double  canoe  are  made  as  strong  and  light  as  the  nature  of  the  work 
will  admit,  and  may  be  immerged  in  water  to  the  very  platform  without 
being  in  danger  of  filling.  Nor  is  it  possible,  under  any  circumstances 
whatever,  for  them  to  sink,  so  long  as  they  hold  together.  Thus  they 
are  not  only  vessels  of  burden,  but  fit  for  distant  navigation.  They  are 
rigged  v/ith  one  mast,  with  steps  upon  the  platform,  and  can  easily  be 
raised  or  taken  down  ;  and  are  sailed  with  a  latteen  sail,  or  triangular  one, 
extended  by  a  long  yard,  which  is  a  little  bent  or  crooked.  Their  work- 
ing tools  are  made  of  stone,  bone,  shells,  &c.,  as  at  the  other  islands. 
Their  knowledge  of  the  utility  of  iron  was  no  more  than  sufficient  to  teach 
them  to  prefer  nails  to  beads  and  such  trifles  :  some,  but  very  few,  would 
exchange  a  pig  for  a  large  nail  or  a  hatchet.  Old  jackets,  shirts,  cloth, 
and  even  rags,  were  in  more  esteem  than  the  best  edge-tool ;  consequently, 
they  got  bu^  few  axes  but  what  were  given  as  presents. 

Both  men  and  women  are  of  a  common  size  with  Europeans,  and  theii 
colour  is  that  of  a  lightish  copper,  and  more  uniformly  so  than  among  the 
inhabitants  of  Otaheite  and  the  Society  Isles. 

The  women  are  the  merriest  creatures  they  ever  met  wi^h,  and  will 
kaep  chatting  without  the  least  invitation,  or  considering  whether  they 


JAMES  COOK. 


253 


afe  understood,  provided  one  does  but  seem  pleased  with  them.  In  ge- 
neral they  appeared  to  be  modest ;  although  there  was  no  want  of  those 
of  a  different  stamp. 

In  the  afternoon,  on  the  8th  of  October,  made  the  Island  of  Pilstart. 
This  island,  which  was  also  discovered  by  Tasman,  is  situated  in  the 
latitude  of  22  degrees  26  minutes  south,  longitude  175  degrees  59  minutes 
west.  On  the  21st  made  the  land  of  New  Zealand  ;  at  noon  Table  Cape 
bore  west,  distant  eight  or  ten  leagues.  November  2d  a  gale  abated,  and 
was  succeeded  by  a  few  hours'  calm  ;  after  that  a  breeze  sprung  up  at 
r.orth-west,  with  which  they  weighed  and  ran  up  into  Ship  Cove,  where 
they  did  not  find  the  Adventure,  which  had  separated  a  day  or  two  before 
from  not  observing  a  signal,  as  was  expected  in  Queen  Charlotte's 
Sound. 

In  the  afternoon  some  of  the  officers  went  on  shore  to  amuse  them- 
selves among  the  natives,  where  they  saw  the  head  and  bowels  of  a  youth, 
ivho  had  lately  been  killed,  lying  on  the  beach,  and  the  heart  stuck  on  a 
forked  stick,  which  was  fixed  to  the  head  of  one  of  the  largest  canoes. 
One  of  the  gentlemen  bought  the  head  and  brought  it  on  board,  where  a 
piece  of  the  flesh  was  broiled  and  eaten  by  one  of  the  natives,  before  all 
the  officers  and  most  of  the  men.  That  the  New  Zealanders  are  canni- 
bals, can  now  no  longer  be  doubted. 

On  the  25th,  early  in  the  morning,  they  weighed,  with  a  small  breeze, 
out  of  the  cove.  On  the  26th  took  their  departure  from  Cape  Palliscr, 
and  steered  to  the  south,  inclining  to  the  east,  having  a  favourable  gale 
from  the  north-west  and  south-west.  At  four  o'clock,  12th  of  December, 
being  in  the  latitude  of  62  degrees  10  minutes  south,  longitude  172  de- 
grees west,  saw  the  first  ice  island,  llj  degrees  farther  south  than  the 
first  ice  seen  on  the  preceding  year,  after  leaving  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  The  17th,  falling  in  with  a  quantity  of  loose  ice,  they  hoisted  out 
two  boats  ;  and  by  noon  got  on  board  as  much  as  they  could  manage. 
The  clear  weather,  and  the  wind  veering  to  north-west,  tempted  them  to 
steer  south  ;  which  course  they  continued  till  seven  in  the  morning  of 
the  20th,  when  the  wind  changing  to  north-east,  and  the  sky  becoming 
clouded,  they  hauled  up  south-east.  In  the  afternoon  the  wind  increased 
to  a  strong  gale,  attended  with  a  thick  fog,  snow,  sleet,  and  rain.  The 
rigging  at  this  time  was  so  loaded  with  ice  that  they  had  enough  to  do 
to  get  the  topsails  down  to  double  the  reef  January  1st,  the  wind  re- 
mained not  long  at  east,  but  veered  round  by  the  south  to  west  ;  blew 
fresh,  attended  with  snow  showers.  In  the  evening,  being  in  the  latitude 
of  58  degrees  39  minutes  south,  passed  two  islands  of  ice  ;  after  which 
saw  no  more  till  they  stood  again  to  the  south. 

On  the  30th,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  perceived  the  clouds  over 
the  horizon  to  the  south  to  be  of  an  tmusual  snow-white  brightness,  which 
they  knew  denounced  their  approach  to  field-ice. 

Captain  Cook  here  says  :  "  I  will  not  say  it  was  impossible  anywhere 
to  get  farther  to  the  south  ;  but  the  attempting  it  would  have  been  a  danger- 
ous and  rash  enterprise,  and  what,  I  believe,  no  man  in  my  situation  would 
have  thought  of  It  was,  indeed,  my  opinion,  as  well  as  the  opinion  of 
most  on  board,  that  this  ice  extended  quite  to  the  pole,  or  perhaps  joined 
to  some  land,  to  which  it  had  been  fixed  from  the  earliest  time  ;  and  that 
it  is  here  (that  is,  ta  the  south  of  this  parallel)  where  all  the  ice  we  find 
scattered  up  and  down  to  the  north  is  first  formed,  and  afterward  broken 
off  by  gales  of  wind,  or  other  causes,  and  brought  to  the  north  by  the 
currents,  which  we  always  found  to  set  in  that  direction  in  the  high  lati-_ 

22 


2ti  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

tudes.  As  we  drew  near  this  ice  some  penguins  were  heard,  but  none 
seen  ;  and  but  few  other  birds,  or  any  other  thing  that  could  induce  us 
to  think  any  land  was  near.  And  yet  I  think  there  must  be  some  to  the 
south  behind  this  ice  ;  but  if  there  is,  it  can  afford  no  better  retreat  for 
birds,  or  any  other  animals,  than  the  ice  itself,  with  which  it  must  be 
wholly  covered.  I,  who  had  ambition  not  only  to  go  farther  than  any  one 
had  been  before,  but  as  far  as  it  was  possible  for  man  to  go,  was  not  sorry 
at  meeting  with  this  interruption,  as  it  in  some  measure  relieved  us,  at 
least  shortened  the  dangers  and  hardships  inseparable  from  the  navigation 
of  the  southern  polar  regions.  Since,  therefore,  we  could  not  proceed 
one  inch  farther  to  the  south,  no  other  reason  need  be  assigned  for  my 
tacking  and  standing  back  to  the  north  :  being  at  this  time  in  the  lati- 
tude of  71  degrees  10  minutes  south,  longitude  106  degrees  54  minutes 
west." 

Steering  north  from  this  time,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  on  the 
nth  of  March,  .land  was  seen  from  the  mast-head,  bearing  west ;  and  at 
noon,  from  the  deck,  extending  from  west  three-quarters  north  to  west  by 
south,  about  twelve  leagues  distant.  They  made  no  doubt  that  this  was 
Davis's  Land,  or  Easter  Island,  as  its  appearance  from  this  situation 
Corresponded  very  well  with  Wafer's  account ;  and  they  expected  to  have 
seen  the  low  sandy  isle  that  Davis  fell  in  with,  which  would  have  been  a 
confirmaton  ;  but  in  this  were  disappointed.  In  the  mean  time,  sent  away 
the  master  in  a  boat  to  sound  the  coast.  He  returned  about  five  o'clock 
in  the  evening  ;  and  soon  after  they  came  to  an  anchor  in  thirty-six  fathoms 
water,  before  a  sandy  beadh.  As  the  master  drew  near  shore  with  the 
boat',  one  of  the  natives  swam  off  to  her,  and  insisted  on  coming  aboard 
the  ship,  where  he  remained  two  nights  and  a  day.  The  first  thing  he 
did  after  coming  aboard,  was  to  measure  the  length  of  the  ship,  by  fathom- 
ing her  from  the  taffrail  to  the  stem  ;  and  as  he  counted  the  fathoms, 
they  observed  that  he  called  the  numbers  by  the  same  names  that  they 
do  at  Otaheite  ;  nevertheless,  his  language  was  in  a  manner  wholly  unin- 
telligible to  all  on  board. 

Captain  Cook  landed  at  the  sandy  beach,  where  some  hundreds  of  the 
natives  were  assembled,  and  who  were  so  impatient  to  see  them,  that 
many  swam  off  to  meet  the  boats.  Not  one  had  so  much  as  a  stick  or 
weapon  of  any  sort  in  his  hand.  After  distributing  a  few  trinkets 
among  them,  the  officers  made  signs  for  something  to  eat ;  on  which 
they  brought  down  a  few  potatoes,  plantains,  and  sugar-canes,  and 
exchanged  them  for  nails,  looking-glasses,  and  pieces  of  cloth. 

They  presently  discovered  that  they  were  as  expert  thieves,  and  as  trick- 
ing in  their  exchanges,  as  any  people  yet  met  with.  It  was  with  some 
difficulty  the  officers  could  keep  their  hats  on  their  heads  ;  but  hardly 
possible  to  keep  anythhig  in  their  pockets,  not  even  what  the  natives  had 
sold  them  ;  for  they  would  watch  every  opportunity  to  snatch  it  again,  so 
that  the  officers  sometimes  bought  the  same  thing  two  or  three  times  over, 
and  after  all  did  not  get  it. 

The  inhabitants  do  not  seem  to  exceed  six  or  seven  hundred  souls,  and 
above  two-thirds  of  those  Were  males.  They  either  have  but  few  females 
among  them,  or  else  many  were  restrained  from  making  their  appearance 
during  their  stay  ;  for  though  they  saw  nothing  to  induce  them  to  believe 
the  men  were  of  a  jealous  disposition,  or  the  womeo  afraid  to  appear  in 
public,  something  of  this  kind  was  probably  the  case.  In  colour,  features, 
and  language,  they  bear  such  a  resemblance  to  the  people  of  the  more 
western  isles,  that  no  one  will  doubt  they  have  had  the  same  origin. 


JAMES  cook  '  255 

The  gigantic  statues  so  often  mentioned  are  not,  in  their  opinion, 
looked  upon  as  idols  by  the  present  inhabitants,  whatever  they  might  have 
been  in  the  days  of  the  Dutch ;  at  least  they  saw  nothing  that  could  in- 
duce them  to  think  so.  The  statues,  or  at  least  many  of  them,  are 
erected  on  platforms,  which  serve  aS  foundations.  They  are,  as  near  as 
they  could  judge,  about  half  length,  ending  in  a  sortof  etump  at  the  hot* 
torn,  on  which  they  stand.  The  workmanship  is  rude,  but  not  bad  ;  ncfr 
are  the  features  of  the  face  ill  formed,  the  nose  and  chin  in  particular ; 
but  the  ears  are  long  beyond  proportion  :  and  as  to  the  bodies,  there  is 
hardlv  anything  like  a  human  figure  about  them. 

After  leaving  Easter  Island  they  steered  north-west  by  north  and  north- 
north-west,  with  a  fine  easterly  gale,  intending  to  touch  at  the  Mar* 
quesas. 

They  continued  to  steer  to  the  west  till  the  6th  of  April,  at  four  in  the 
afternoon,  at  which  time,  being  in  the  latitude  of  9  degrees  20  minutes, 
longitude  133  degrees  14  minutes  west,  they  discovered  an  island,  bear- 
ing west  by  south,  distant  about  nine  leagues.  Two  hours  after  saw 
another,  bearing  south-west  by  south,  which  appeared  more  extensive  than 
the  former.  By  this  time  they  were  well  assured  that  these  were  the 
Marquesas,  discovered  by  Mendana  in  1595.  The  first  isle  was  a  new 
discovery,  which  was  named  Hood's  Island,  after  the  young  gentleman 
who  lirst  saw  it :  the  second  was  that  of  St.  Pedro  ;  the  third  Le  Pomi- 
nica  ;  and  the  fourth  St.  Christina.  Very  early  next  morning  the  natives 
visited  them  in  great  numbers,  bringing  bread  fruit,  plantains,  and  one  pig, 
flU  of  which  they  exchanged  for  nails,  &c.  But  in  this  traffic  they  would 
frequently  keep  the  goods  and  make  no  return,  till  at  last  they  were 
.obliged  to  fire  a  musket  ball  over  one  man,  who  had  several  times  served 
them  in  this  manner ;  after  which  they  dealt  more  fairly,  and  soon  after 
several  came  on  board. 

The  Marquesas  are  five  in  number,  viz.,  La  Magdalena,  St.  Pedro,  La 
Dominica,  Santa  Christina,  ai^d  Hood's  Island,  which  is  the  northermost,- 
situated  in  latitude  9  degrees  26  minutes  south,  and  13  degrees  west, 
five  leagues  and  a  half  distant  from  the  east  point  of  La  Dominica,  which 
is  the  largest  of  all  the  isles,  extending  east  and  west  six  leagues. 

The  port  of  Madre  de  Dios,  now  named  Resolution  Bay,  is  situated 
near  the  middle  of  the  west  side  of  St..  Christina,  and  under  the  highest 
land  on  the  island.  In  the  bay,  which  is  near  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
deep,  and  has  from  thirty-four  to  twelve  fathoms  water,  with  a  clean  sandy 
bottom,  are  tv/o  sandy  Coves,  divided  from  each  other  by  a  rocky  point. 
In  each  is  a  rivulet  of  excellent  water.  The  northoru  cove  is  the  most 
commodious  for  wooding  and  watering.  Kere  is  the  little  water-fall 
mentioned  by  Quiros,  Mendaua's  pilot ;  but  the  town,  or  village,  is  in  the 
other  cove.  The  inhabitants  collectively  are,  without  exception,  the 
finest  race  of  people  in  this  sea.  For  fine  shape  and  regular  features, 
they  perhaps  surpass  all  other  nations.  Nevertheless,  the  affinity  of  their 
language  to  that  spoken  in  the  Otaheite  and  the  Society  Isles,  show  that 
they  are  of  the  same  nation. 

The  men  are  punctured,  or  curiously  tattoced,  from  head  to  foot.  The 
figures  are  various,  and  seem  directed  more  by  fancy  than  custom.  These 
puncturations  make  them  look  dark  ;  but  the  women,  who  are  but  little 
punctured,  youths,  and  young  children,  who  are  not  at  all,  are  as  fair  as 
Gome  Europeans.  With  a  fine  easterly  wind  they  steered  south-west, 
fiouth-west  by  west,  and  west  by  south,  till  the  17th,  at  ten  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  when  land  was  seen  bearing  north-west,  which,  upon  a 


250  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

nearer  approacli,  was  found  to  be  a  string  of  low  isles,  connected  toge 
ther  by  a  reef  of  coral  rocks.  This  island,  which  is  called  by  the  inhabi 
tants  Tioo-kea,  was  discovered  and  visited  by  Commodore  Byron.  .Oi 
the  18th,  at  daybreak,  after  having  spent  the  night  making  short  boards, 
wore  down  to  another  isle  in  sight  to  the  west-ward,  which  they  reaches 
by  eight  o'clock,  and  ranged  the  south-east  side  at  one  mile  from  shore. 
These  must  be  the  same  islands  to  which  Commodore  Byron  gave  the 
name  of  George's  Islands. 

On  the  19lh,  at  seven  in  the  morning,  land  was  seen  to  the  westward. 
It  proved  to  be  another  of  these  half  overflowed  or  drowned  islands, 
which  are  so  common  to  this  part  of  the  ocean  ;  that  is,  a  number  of 
little  isles  ranged  in  a  circular  form,  connected  together  by  a  reef  or 
wall  of  coral  rock. 

As  they  drew  near  the  south  end,  saw  from  the  mast-head  another  of 
these  low  isles  bearing  south-east,  distant  about  four  or  five  leagues  ;  but, 
being  to  wiiidvvard,  could  not  reach  it.  Soon  after  a  third  appeared,  bear- 
ing south-west  by  south,  for  which  they  steered  ;  and  at  two  o'clock, 
P.  M.,  reached  the  east  end,  which  is  situated  in  latitude  15  degrees  47 
minutes  south,  longitude  146  degrees  30  minutes  west. 

They  made  the  high.  land  of  Otaheite  on  the  21st,  and  at  noon  were 
about  thirteen  leagues  east  of  Point  Venus,  for  which  they  steered,  and 
got  pretty  well  in  with  it  by  sunset,  when  they  shortened  sail ;  and  at 
eight  o'clock  the  next  morning  anchored  in  Matavai  Bay.  This  was  no 
sooner  known  to  the  natives,  than  many  made  a  visit,  and  expressed  not 
a  little  joy  at  seeing  them  again.  On  the  24th,  Otoo,  the  king,  and  several 
other  chiefs,  with  a  train  of  attendants,  paid  a  visit,  and  brought  as 
presents  ten  or  a  dozen  large  hogs,  besides  fruits,  which  made  them 
exceedingly  welcome. 

On  the  26th  Captain  Cook  went  down  to  Oparee,  accompanied  by 
some  of  the  officers  and  gentlemen,  to  pay  Otoo  a  visit  by  appointment. 
As  they  drew  near,  they  observed  a  number  of  large  canoes  in  motion  J 
but  were  surprised  to  see  npward  of  300  ranged  in  order,  for  some 
distance  along  the  shore,  all  completely  equipped  and  manned,  besides  a 
vast  number  of  armed  men  upon  the  shore.  The  vessels  of  war  con- 
sisted of  160  large  double  canoes,  very  well  equipped,  manned,  and  armed. 
The  chiefs,  and  all  those  on  the  fighting  stages,  were  dressed  in  the  war 
habits  ;  that  is,  in  a  vast  quantity  of  cloth,  turbans,  breast-plates,  and 
helmets  :  some  of  the  latter  were  of  such  a  length  as  greatly  to  incum- 
ber the  wearer.  Indeed  their  v/hole  dress  seemed  to  be  ill  calculated 
for  the  day  of  battle,  and  to  be  designed  more  for  show  than  use.  The 
vessels  were  decorated  with  flags,  streamers,  <fec.  ;  so  that  the  whole  made 
a  noble  appearance,  such  as  they  had  never  seen  before  in  this  sea,  and 
what  no  one  would  have  expected.  Their  instruments  of  war  were  clubs, 
spears,  and  stones.  The  vessels  were  ranged  close  alongside  of  each 
other,  with  their  heads  ashore  and  their  stern  to  the  sea  ;  the  admiral's 
vessel  being  nearly  in  the  centre.  Besides  the  vessels  of  war,  there 
were  170  sail  of  smaller  double  canoes,  all  with  a  little  house  upon  them, 
and  rigged  with  mast  and  sail,  which  the  war  canoes  had  not.  These 
were  designed  for  transports,  victuallers,  &c. ;  for  the  war  canoes  contained 
no  sort  of  provision  whatever.  In  these  330  vessels  there  were  no  less 
than  7760  men  ;  a  number  which  appears  incredible,  especially  as  we 
were  told  they  all  belonged  to  the  districts  of  Attahourou  and  Ahopatea. 
In  this  computation  they  allowed  to  eacli  war  canoe  forty  men,  troops 
and  rowers,  and  to  each  of  the  small  canoes  eight.     Most  of  the  gentle* 


JAMES  COOK.  257 

men  thought  the  number  of  men  belonging  to  the  war  canoes  exceeded 
this.  When  they  got  to  Matavai,  their  I'riends  there  told  them,  that  this 
fleet  was  part  of  the  armament  intended  to  go  against  Eimeo,  whose 
chief  had  thrown  off  the  yoke  of  Otaheite,  and  assumed  an  independency. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  15th  they  anchored  in  the  north  entrance  of 
O'Wharre  harbour,  in  the  Island  of  Huaheine.  In  the  evening  some  of 
the  gentlemen  went  to  a  dramatic  entertainment.  The  piece  represented 
a  girl  as  running  away  with  them  from  Otaheile  ;  which  was  in  some 
degree  true,  as  a  young  woman  had  taken  a  passage  down  to  Ulietea, 
and  happened  now  to  be  present  at  the  representation  of  her  own  adven- 
tures ;  it  had  such  an  effect  upon  her,  that  it  was  with  great  difficulty 
the  gentlemen  could  prevail  upon  her  to  see  the  play  out,  or  to  refrain 
from  tears  while,  it  was  acting.  The  piece  concluded  with  the  reception 
she  was  supposed  to  meet  with  from  her  friends  on  her  return  ;  which 
was  not  a  very  favourable  one. 

The  23d,  wind  easterly,  as  it  had  been  ever  since  they  left  Otaheite. 
Early  in  the  morning  unmoored,  and  at  eight  weighed  and  put  to  sea. 
As  soon  as  they  were  clear  of  the  harbour,  made  sail,  and  stood  over  for 
the  south  end  of  Ulietea.  Next  day  they  warped  the  ship  into  a  proper 
birth,  and  moored  her,  so  as  to  command  all  the  shores  around.  In  the 
meantime  a  party  went  ashore  to  pay  the  chief  a  visit,  and  to  make  the 
customary  present. 

On  the  31st  the  people,  knowing  they  should  sail  soon,  began  to  bring 
more  fruit  on  board  than  usual.  Among  those  who  came  was  a  young 
man,  who  measured  six  feet  four  inches  and  six- tenths ;  and  his  sister, 
younger  than  him,  measured  tive  feet  ten  inches  and  a  half.  A  brisk 
trade  for  hogs  and  fruit  continued  on  the  1st  of  June.  On  the  2d,  in  the 
afternoon,,  got  intelligence  that  three  days  before  two  ships  had  arrived  at 
Huaheine.  The  same  report  said,  the  one  was  commanded  by  Mr. 
Banks,  and  the  other  by  Captain  Furneaux,  The  man  who  brought  \^e 
account  said,  he  was  made  drunk  on  board  one  of  them,  and  described 
the  persons  of  Mr.  Banks  and  Captain  Furneaux  so  well  that  they  had 
not  the  least  doubt  of  the  truth,  and  began  to  consider  about  sending  a 
boat  over  that  very  evening  with  orders  to  Captain  Furneaux,  when  a 
man,  a  friend  of  Mr.  Forster,  happened  to  come  on  board,  and  denied  the 
whole,  saying  it  was  wa  warre,  a  lie. 

They  did  not  get  clear  of  their  friends  till  eleven  o'clock,  when  they 
weighed  and  put  to  sea  ;  but  Oedidee  did  not  leave  them  till  almost  out 
of  the  harbour.  He  staid  in  order  to  fire  some  guns  ;  for  it  being  his 
majesty's  birth-day,  they  fired  the  salute  at  going  away. 

On  the  6th,  being  the  day  after  leaving  Ulietea,  at  eleven  o'clock,  A.  M., 
they  saw  land  bearing  north-west.  This  is  Howe  Island,  discovered 
by  Captain  Wallis.  About  half  an  hour  after  sunrise  land  was  seen  from 
the  topmast-head,  bearing  north-north-east,  and  named  it  Palmerston 
Island,  in  honour  of  Lord  Palmerston,  one  of  the  lords  of  the  admiralty. 
At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  they  left  this  isle,  and  resumed  their  course 
to  the  west  by  south,  with  a  fine  steady  gale  easterly,  till  noon  on  the 
20th.  Soon  after,  they  saw  land  from  the  mast-head,  and  found  it  to  be 
an  island  which,  at  five  o'clock,  bore  west,  distant  five  leagues.  The 
conduct  and  aspect  of  the  islanders  occasioned  their  naming  it  Savage 
Island.  It  is  situated  in  latitude  19  degrees  1  minute  south,  longitude 
169  degree  37  minutes  v;est.  It  is  about  eleven  leagues  in  circuit,  of 
a  round  form,  and  good  height ;  and  has  deep  water  close  to  its  shores. 
At  daybreak  next  morning,  bore  away  west ;  and  soon  after  saw  a  string 


258  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

of  islands,  extending  from  south-south-west,  by  the  west  to  north-north- 
west. Toward  noon  some  canoes  came  off  from  one  of  the  isles,  having 
two  or  three  people  in  each,  who  advanced  boldly  alongside,  and  ex- 
changed some  cocoa  nuts  and  shaddocks  for  small  nails.  They  pointed 
out  Anamocka  or  Rotterdam  ;  an  advantage  they  derived  from  knowing 
the  proper  names. 

Before  ihey  had  well  got  to  an  anchor,  the  natives  came  off  from  all 
parts  in  canoes,  bringing  yams  and  shaddocks,  which  they  exchanged  for 
small  nails  and  old  rags.  One  man,  taking  a  vast  liking  to  the  lead  and 
line,  got  hold  of  it,  and  cut  the  line  with  a  stone ;  but  a  discharge  of 
small  shot  made  him  return  it.  The  inhabitants,  productions,  &c.,  of 
Rotterdam  and  the  neighbouring  isles  are  the  same  as  at  Amsterdam. 
Hogs  and  fowls  are  scarcer  ;  of  the  former  having  got- but  six,  and  not 
many  of  the  latter.  Yams  and  shaddocks  were  what  they  got  the  most 
of;  other  fruits  were  not  so  plenty.  Not  half  of  the  isle  is  laid  out  in 
enclosed  plantations,  as  at  Amsterdam  ;  but  the  parts  which  are  not 
enclosed  are  not  less  fertile  or  uncultivated. 

On  the  1st  of  July,  at  sunrise,  Amattafoa  was  still  in  sight,  bearing 
east-north-east,  distant  twenty  leagues.  Continuing  the  course  to  the 
west,  the  next  day,  at  noon,  discovered  land  bearing  north-west  by  west. 
The  16th,  the  weather  was  foggy,  and  the  wind  blew  in  heavy  squalls, 
attended  with  rain,  which  in  this  ocean  generally  indicates  the  vicinity  of 
some  high  land.  This  was  verified  at  three  in  the  afternoon,  when  high 
land  was  seen  bearing  south-west.  They  had  no  sooner  anchored  than 
several  of  the  natives  came  otl  in  canoes.  They  were  very  cautious  at 
first :  but  at  last  trusted  themselves  alongside,  and  exchanged  arrows  for 
pieces  of  cloth ;  some  of  which  were  pohited  with  bone,  and  dipped  in 
some  green  gummy  substance,  which  they  supposed  was  poisonous.  Two 
men  having  ventured  on  board,  after  a  short  stay,  were  sent  away  with 
piesents.  The  people  of  MallicoUo  seemed  to  be  a  quite  different  nation 
from  any  they  had  yet  met  with,  and  speak  a  different  language.  Of  about 
eighty  words  which  Mr.  Forster  collected,  hardly  one  bears  any  affiniy 
to  the  language  spoken  at  any  other  island  or  place  they  had  ever  been 
at.  The  harbour  on  the  north-east  side  of  MaUicollo,  not  far  from 
the  south-east  end,  in  latitude  16  degrees  25  minutes  20  seconds  south, 
longitude  167  degrees  57  minutes  23  seconds  east,  was  named  Port 
Sandwich. 

Continuing  a  course  to  the  south,  at  five,  P.  M.,  they  drew  near  the 
southern  lands,  which  were  found  to  consist  of  one  large  island,  and  three 
or  four  smaller  ones  lying  off  its  north  side.  The  northernmost  two  aro 
much  the  largest,  have  a  good  height,  and  lie  in  the  direction  of  east  by 
south  and  west' by  north  from  each  other,  distant  two  leagues.  They 
named  the  one  Montagu,  the  other  Hinchinbroke,  and  the  large  island 
Sandwich.  At  sunrise,  having  discovered  a  new  land  bearing  south, 
making  three  hills,  this  occasioned  them  to  tack  and  stand  toward  it. 
Many  of  the  natives  got  together  in  parties  on  several  parts  of  the  shore, 
all  armed  with  bows,  spears,  &c.  Some  swam  off ;  others  came  in  canoes. 
At  first  they  were  shy,  and  kept  at  the  distance  of  a  stone's  throw  :  they 
grew  insensibly  bolder ;  and  at  last  came  under  the  stern,  and  made 
some  exchanges.  During  the  night  a  volcano,  which  was  about  four  miles 
to  the  west,  vomited  up  vast  quantities  of  fire  and  smoke,  as  it  had  also 
done  the  night  before  ;  at  every  eruption  it  made  a  long  rumbling  noise, 
like  that  of  thunder  or  the  blowing  up  of  large  mines. 

The  preceding  day  Mr.  Forster  learned  from  the  people  the  proper  name 


JAMES  COOK.  259 

of  the  island,  which  they  call  Tanna.  The  produce  is  bread  fruit,  plan- 
tains, cocoa  nut.s,  a  fruit  like  a  nectarine,  yams,  tarra,  a  sort  of  potatoe, 
sugar-cane,  wild  figs,  a  fruit  like  an  orange,  which  is  not  eatable,  and 
other  fruits  and  nuts.  The  bread  fruit,  cocoa  nuts,  and  plantains,  are 
neither  so  plentiful  nor  so  good  as  at  Otaheite  ;  on  the  other  hand,  sugar- 
canes  and  yams  are  not  only  in  greater  plenty,  but  of  superior  quality,  and 
much  larger.  Hogs  did  not  seem  to  be  scarce,  but  they  saw  not  many 
fowls.  These  are  the  only  domestic  animals  they  have.  Land  birds  are 
not  more  numerous  than  at  Otaheite  and  the  other  islands.  The  people 
are  of  the  middle  size,  rather  slender  ;  many  are  little,  but  few  tall  or 
stout ;  the  most  of  them  have  good  features  and  agreeable  countenances  ; 
are,  like  all  the  tropical  race,  active  and  nimble  ;  and  seem  to  excel  in 
the  use  of  arms,  but  not  to  be  fond  of  labour.  Both  sexes  are  of  a  very 
dark  colour,  but  not  black  ;  nor  have  they  the  least  characteristic  of  the 
negro  about  them.  They  make  themselves  blacker  than  they  really  are, 
by  painting  their  faces  with  a  pigment  of  the  colour  of  black  lead.  Th«ay 
named  the  harbour  Port  Resolution,  after  the  ship,  she  being  the  first 
which  ever  entered  it.  It  is  situated  on  the  north  side  of  the  most 
eastern  point  of  the  island,  and  about  east-north-east  from  the  volcano, 
in  the  latitude  of  19  degrees  32  minutes  25  seconds  south,  and  in  the 
longitude  of  169  degrees  44  minutes  35  seconds  east. 

As  soon  as  the  boats  were  hoisted  in  they  .made  sail,  and  stretched 
to  the  eastward,  with  a  fresh  gale  at  south-east.  At  daybreak,  on  the 
25th  of  August,  they  were  on  the  north  side  of  an  island,  (which  is  of  a 
moderjite  height,  and  three  leagues  in  circuit,)  and  steered  west  for  a 
bluff-head,  along  the  low  land  under  it.  After  doubling  the  head  they 
found  the  land  to  trend  south,  a  little  easterly,  and  to  form  a  large  deep 
bay,  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  coast  just  mentioned.  Everything  con- 
spired to  make  them  believe  this  was  the  Bay  of  St.  Philip  and  St.  Jago, 
discovered  by  Quiros  in  1606.  The  northern  islands  of  this  archipelago 
were  first  discovered  by  that  great  navigator,  Quiros,  in  1606 ;  and,  not 
without  reason,  were  considered  as  part  of  the  southern  continent,  which, 
at  that  time,  was  supposed  to  exist.  They  were  next  visited  by  M.  de 
Bougainville,  who,  besides  landing  on  the  Isle  of  Lepers,  did  no  more 
than  discover  that  the  land  was  not  connected,  but  composed  of  islands, 
which  he  called  the  Great  Cyclades.  But  as,  besides  ascertaining  the 
extent  and  situation  of  these  islands,  Cook  added  to  them  several  new 
ones  which  were  not  known  before,  and  explored  the  whole,  .he  has  ob- 
tained a  right  to  name  them  ;  and  shall  in  future  distinguish  them  by  the 
name  of  the  New  Hebrides.  They  arc  situated  between  the  latitude  of 
14  degrees  29  minutes  and  20  degrees  4  minutes  south,  and  between  166 
degrees  41  minutes  and  170  degrees  21  minutes  east  longitude,  and  extend 
120  leagues,  in  the  direction  of  north-north-west,  half  west,  and  south- 
south-east,  half  east. 

At  sunrise,  on  the  1st  of  September,  after  having  stood  to,  south-west 
all  night,  no  more  land  was  to  be  seen.  On  the  20th,  as  they  were  steer- 
ing to  the  south,  land  was  discovered  bearing  south-south-west.  Breakers 
were  seen  about  half-way  between  them  and  the  shore  ;  and  behind,  two 
or  three  canoes  under  sail  standing  out  to  sea,  as  if  their  design  had  been 
to  come  off.  They  had  hardly  got  to  an  anchor,  before  they  were  sur- 
rounded by  a  great  number  of  the  natives,  in  sixteen  or  eighteen  canoes, 
most  of  whom  were  without  any  sort  of  weapons.  On  shore  they  found 
the  same  chief  who  had  been  seen  in  one  of  the  canoes  in  the  morning, 
whose  name  was  Teabooma  ;  and  they  had  not  been  on  shore  above  ten 


260  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

minutes,  before  he  called  for  silence.  Being  instantly  obeyed  by  every 
individual  present,  he  made  a  short  speech  ;  and  soon  after  another  chief, 
having  called  for  silence,  made  a  speech  also.  It  was  pleasing  to  see 
with  what  attention  they  were  heard.  Their  speeches  were  composed 
of  short  sentences  ;  to  each  of  which  two  or  three  old  men  answered,  by 
nodding  their  heads,  and  giving  a  kind  of  grunt,  significant  of  approba- 
tion. 

The  inhabitants  are  a  strong,  robust,  active,  well-made  people,  courteous 
and  friendly,  and  not  in  the  least  addicted  to  pilfering,  which  is  more  than 
can  be  said  of  any  other  nation  in  this  sea.  They  are  nearly  of  the  same 
colour  as  the  natives  of  Tanna,  but  have  better  features,  more  agrceafele 
countenances,  and  are  a  much  stouter  race,  a  few  being  seen  who  mea- 
sured six  feet  four  inches  ;  some  had  thick  lips,  flat  noses,  and  full  cheeks, 
and.,  in  some  degree,  the  features  and  look  of  a  negro.  Two  things  con- 
tributed to  the  forming  of  such  an  idea  ;  first,  their  rough  mop  heads  ;  and, 
secondly,  their  besmearing  their  faces  with  black  pigment.  Their  hair 
and  beards  are  in  general  black.  The  former  is  very  much  frizzled,  so 
that,  at  first  sight,  it  appears  like  that  of  a  negro.  It  is,  nevertheless, 
very  different :  though  both  coarser  and  stronger  than  ours.  The  women's 
dress  is  a  short  petticoat,  made  of  the  filaments  of  the  plantain  tree  laid 
over  a  cord,  to  which  they  are  fastened,  and  tied  round  the  waist.  The 
petticoat  is  made  at  least  six  or  eight  inches  thick,  but  not  one  inch  longer 
than  necessary  for  the  use  designed.  The  general  ornaments  for  both 
sexes  are  car-rings  of  tortoise  shell,  necklaces  or  amulets,  made  both  of 
shells  and  stones,  and  bracelets  made  of  large  shells,  which  they  wear  over 
the  elbow. 

They  called  the  island  New  Caledonia  ;  and,  if  we  except  New  Zealand, 
it  is  perhaps  the  largest  island  in  the  South  Pacific  Ocean  ;  for  it  extends 
from  the  latitude  of  19  degrees  37  minutes  to  22  degrees  30  minutes  south, 
aii^  from  the  longitude  of  163  degrees  37  minutes  to  167  degrees  14 
minutes  east.  It  lies  nearly  west-north-west  and  east- south-east,  and  is 
about  eighty-seven  leagues  long  m  that  direction  ;  but  its  breadth  is  not 
considerable,  nor  anywhere  exceeding  ten  leagues.  It  is  a  country  full 
of  hills  and  valleys,  of  various  extent,  both  for  height  and  depth. 

The  wind  continuing  at  south-west,  blowing  a  fresh  gale,  and  now  and 
then  squalls,  with  showers  of  rain,  they  steered  to  south- south-east,  with- 
out meeting  with  any  remarkable  occurrence  till  near  noon  on  the  6th  of 
October,  when  it  fell  calm.  On  the  10th,  at  daybreak,  discovered  land, 
.bearing  south-west,  which,  on  a  nearer  approach,  was  found  to  be  an  island 
of  good  height,  and  five  leagues  in  circuit ;  they  named  Jt  Norfolk  Isle,  in 
honour  of  the  noble  family  of  Howard.  It  is  situated  in  the  latitude  of 
29  degrees  2  minutes  30  seconds  south,  and  longitude  16S  degrees  16 
minutes  east. 

After  leaving  this  isle,  they  steered  for  New  Zealand,  their  intention 
being  to  touch  at  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound,  to  refresh  the  crew  and  put 
the  ship  iii  a  condition  io  encounter  the  southern  latitudes.  On  the  17th, 
at  daybreak,  saw  mount  Egmont,  covered  with  everlasting  snov/.  At 
midnight  tacked  and  made  a  trip  to  the  north,  till  three  o'clock  next  morn- 
ing, v*'hen  they  bore  away  for  the  sound.  At  nine  hauled  round  Point 
Jackson,  through  a  sea  which  looked  terrible,  occasioned  by  a  rapid  tide 
and  a  high  wind.  At  eleven  o'clock  anchored  before  Ship  Cove,  the 
strong  flurries  from  off  the  land  not  permitting  them  to  get  in.  In  the 
afternoon  they  w^ent  into  the  cove,  with  the  seine,  to  try  to  catch  some 
fish.     The  first  thing  after  landing  was  to  look  for  the  bottle  hid  when 


JAMES  COOK.  261 

last  here,  in  which  was  the  memorandum.  It  was  taken  away,  but  I-y 
whom  it  did  not  appear.  Two  hauls  wiih  the  seine  producing  only  four 
small  fish,  they,  in  some  measure,  made  up  for  this  deficiency  by  shoot- 
ing sevpral  birds,  which  the  flowers  in  the  garden  had  drawn  thither,  as 
also  some  old  shags,  and  by  robbing  the  nests  of  some  young  ones.  In 
the  afternoon  Mr.  Wales,  in  setting  up  his  observatory,  discovered  that 
several  trees,  which  were  standing  when  they  last  sailed  from  this  place, 
had  been  cut  down  with  saws  and  axes  ;  and  a  few  days  after,  the  place 
where  an  observatory,  clock,  «Sic.,  had  been  set  up  was  also  found,  but  in  a 
spot  different  froin  that  where  Mr.  Wales  had  placed  his.  It  was  there- 
fore now  no  longer  to  be  doubted  that  the  Adventure  had  been  in  this 
cove  after  they  had  left  it. 

Nothing  remarkable  happened  till  the  24th,  when,  in  the  morning,  two 
canoes  were  seen  coming  down  the  sound  ;  but  as  soon  as  they  perceived 
the  ship,  they  retired  hehmd  a  point  en  the  west  side.  After  breakfast 
they  went  in  a  boat  to  look  for  them  ;  and,  as  they  proceeded  along  tho 
shore,  shot  several  birds.  The  report  of  the  muskets  gave  notice  of 
their  approach,  and  the  natives  discovered  themselves  in  Shag  Cove  by 
hallooing  ;  but  as  they  drew  near  to  their  hal)itations,  they  all  fled  to  the 
woods,  except  two  or  three  men,  who  stood  on  a  risiijg  ground  near  the 
shore,  with  their  arms  in  their  hands.  The  moment  they  landed,  they 
knew  them.  Joy  then  took  the  place  of  fear  ;  and  the  rest  of  the  natives 
hurried  uut  of  the  woods,  and  embraced  them  over  and  over  again,  leap- 
ing and  skipping  about  like  madmen.  There  were  only  a  few  among 
them  whoso  faces  they  could  recognise,  and  on  their  asking  why  they 
were  afraid,  and  inquiring  for  some  of  their  old  acquaintances  by  name, 
they  talked  much  about  killing,  which  was  so  variously  understood,  that 
they  could  gather  nothing  from  it,  so  that,  after  a  short  stay,  they  took 
leave  and  went  on  board. 

On  the  3d  Mr.  Pickcrsgill  met  with  some  of  the  natives,  who  related 
to  him  the  story  of  a  ship  being  lost  and  the  people  being  killed  ;  but 
added,  with  great  earnestness,  it  was  not  done  by  them.  Early  in  the 
morning  of  the  5'h  their  old  friends  made  Cook  a  visit,  and  brought  a 
seasonable  supply  of  fish.  At  the  same  time  the  captain  embarked  in 
the  pinnace,  with  Messrs,  Forster  and  Sparrman,  in  order  to  proceed  up 
the  sound.  He  was  desirous  of  finding  the  termination  of  it  :  cr  rather 
of  seeing  if  he  could  find  any  passage  out  to  sea  by  the  south-east,  as  he 
suspected  from  some  discoveries  made  when  first  here.  In  their  way 
up  they  met  v/ith  some  fishers,  of  whom  they  made  tho  necessary  inquiry  ; 
and  they  all  agreed  that  there  was  no  passage  to  the  sea  by  the  head  of 
the  sound. 

On  the  6th,  wind  at  north-east,  gloomy  weather,  with  rain.  Their  old 
friends  having  taken  up  their  abode  near,  one  of  them,  whose  name  was 
Peuero,  (a  man  of  some  note,)  made  Cook  a  present  of  a  staff  of  honour 
such  as  the  chiefs  generally  carry.  In  return  lie  dressed  him  in  a  suit  of 
old  clothes,  of  which  he  was  not  a  little  proud.  He  had  a  fine  person 
and  a  good  presence,  and  nothing  but  his  colour  distinguished  him  from 
an  European.  Having  got  him  and  another  into  a  communicative  mood, 
they  began  to  inquire  if  the  Adventure  had  been  there  during  their  ab- 
sence ;  and  they  gave  them  to  understand,  in  a  manner  which  admitted 
of  no  doubt,  that  soon  after  they  were  gone  she  arrived  ;  that  she  staid 
between  ten  and  twenty  days,  and  had  been  gone  ten  months.  They 
likewise  asserted  that  neither  she  nor  any  other  ship  had  been  stranded 
on  the  coast,  as  had  been  reported. 


262  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

At  daybreak,  on  the  10th,  with  a  fine  breeze  at  west-north-west,  they 
weighed  and  stood  out  of  the  sound  ;  and,  after  getting  round  the  Two 
Brothers,  steered  for  Cape  Campbell,  which  is  at  the  south-west  entrance 
of  the  strait.  Having  a  steady  fresh  gale  at  north-north-west  on  the 
26th  and  27th,  they  steered  east ;  and  at  noon,  on  the  latter,  were  in 
latitude  55  degrees  6  minutes  south,  longitude  138  degrees  56  minutes 
west.  They  now  gave  up  all  hopes  of  finding  any  more  land  in  this 
ocean,  and  came  to  a  resolution  to  steer  direct  for  the  west  entrance  of 
the  Straits  of  Magellan,  with  a  view  of  coasting  the  outer  or  south  side 
of  Terra  del  Fuego,  round  Cape  Horn  to  the  Strait  Le  Maire.  They 
steered  east  by  north  and  north-east  on  the  17th  of  December,  under 
all  the  sail  they  could  carry,  with  a  fine  fresh  gale  at  north-west  by  west, 
in  expectation  of  seeing  the  land  before  night,  in  order  to  make  sure  of 
falling  in  with  Cape  Deseada.  Two  hours  after,  they  made  the  land, 
extending  from  north-east  by  north  to  east  by  south,  about  six  leagues 
distant. 

Continuing  to  range  the  coast  at  about  two  leagues  distance^  at  eleven 
o'clock  passed  a  projecting  point,  which  was  called  Cape  Gloucester.  At 
three,  passed  Cape  Noir,  which  is  a  steep  rock  of  considerable  height, 
and  the  south-west  point  of  a  large  island  that  seemed  to  lie  detached,  a 
league  or  a  league  and  a  half  from  the  main  land.  This  is  the  most 
desolate  coast  they  ever  saw.  It  seems  entirely  composed  of  rocky 
mountains,  without  the  least  appearance  of  vegetation.  These  moun- 
tains terminate  in  horrible  precipices,  whose  craggy  summits  spire  up  to 
a  vast  height,  so  that  hardly  anything  in  nature  can  appear  with  a  more 
barren  and  savage  aspect  than  the  whole  of  this  country.  Here  they 
anchored  in  thirty  fathoms,  the  bottom  sand  and  broken  shells  ;  and  carried 
out  a  kedge  and  hawser  to  steady  the  ship  for  the  night. 

The  morning  of  the  21st  was  calm  and  pleasant.  After  breakfast  the 
captain  set  out  with  two  boats  to  look  for  a  more  secure  station.  They 
found  a  cove  in  which  was  anchorage  in  thirty,  twenty,  and  fifteen  fathoms, 
the  bottom  stones  and  sand.  At  the  head  of  the  cove  was  a  stony  beach, 
a  valley  covered  with  wood,  and  a  stream  of  fresh  water.  A  number  of 
the  natives,  in  nine  canoes,  had  been  alongside  the  ship,  and  some  on 
board.  Little  address  was  required  to  persuade  them  to  either,  for  they 
seemed  to  be  well  enough  acquainted  with  Europeans,  and  had  among 
them  some  of  their  knives.  The  next  morning,  the  25th,  they  made 
another  visit.  Tliey  were  of  the  same  nation  formerly  seen  in  Success 
Bay,  and  the  same  which  M.  de  Bougainville  distinguishes  by  the  name 
of  Pecharas,  a  word  which  these  had,  on  every  occasion,  in  their  mouths. 
They  are  a  little,  ugly,  half-starved,  beardless  race.  They  are  almost 
naked  ;  their  clothing  was  a  seal  skin  ;  some  had  two  or  three  sewed 
together,  so  as  to  made  a  cloak  which  reached  to  the  knees  ;  but  the  most 
of  them  had  only  one  skin,  hardly  large  enough  to  cover  their  shoulders, 
and  all  their  lower  parts  were  quite  naked.  The  women  covered  their 
nakedness  with  the  flap  of  a  seal  skin,  but  in  other  respects  are  clothed  like 
the  men.     They,  as  well  as  the  children,  remained  m  the  canoes. 

The  festival  celebrated  at  this  place  occasioned  their  giving  it  the  name 
of  Christmas  Sound,  The  entrance,  which  is  three  leagues  wide,  is 
situated  in  the  latitude  of  55  degrees  27  minutes  south,  longitude  70 
degrees  16  minutes  west,  and,  in  the  direction  of  north,  37  degrees 
west  from  St.  Ildefonso  Isles,  distant  ten  leagues. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  on  the  28th  of  December,  began  to 
unmoor,  and  at  eight  weighed  and  stood  out  to  sea.    At  half-past  seven, 


JAMES  COOK.  263 

29th,  passed  the  famous  Cape  Horn,  and  entered  the  southern  Atlantic 
Ocean.  It  is  the  very  same  point  of  land  Cook  took  for  the  cape  in 
1769,  which  at  that  time  he  was  doubtful  of  It  is  the  most  southern 
extremity,  on  a  group  of  islands  of  unequal  extent,  lying  before  Nassau 
Bay,  known  by  the  name  of  Hermite  Islands,  and  is  situated  in  the 
latitude  of  55  degrees  58  minutes,  and  in  the  longitude  of  68  degrees 
13  mmutes  west,  according  to  the  observations  made  of  it  in  1769.  But 
the  observations  which  they  had  in  Christmas  Sound,  and  reduced  to  the 
cape  by  the  watch,  and  others  which  they  had  afterward,  and  reduced 
back  to  it  by  the  same  means,  place  it  in  67  degrees  19  minutes.  It  is 
most  probable  that  a  mean  between  the  two,  viz.,  67  degrees  46  minutes 
will  be  nearest  the  truth. 

After  passing  it,  steered  for  Strait  Le  Maire,  with  a  view  of  looking 
into  Success  Bay,  to  see  if  there  were  any  traces  of  the  Adventure 
having  been  there.  On  Mr.  Pickersgill's  landing,  he  was  courteously 
received  by  several  of  the  natives,  who  were  clothed  in  guanico  and  seal 
skins,  and  had  on  their  arms  bracelets  made  of  silver  wire,  and  wrought 
not  unlike  the  hilt  of  a  sword,  being  no  doubt  the  mannfucture  of  some 
Europeans.  They  were  the  same  kind  of  people  seen  in  Christmas 
Sound,  and,  like  them,  repeated  the  word  pechara  on  every  occasion. 
One  man  spoke  much  to  Mr.  Pickersgill,  pointing  first  to  the  ship  and 
then  to  the  bay,  as  if  he  wanted  her  to  come  in.  Mr.  Pickersgill  said 
the  bay  was  full  of  whales  and  seals  ;  and  they  had  observed  the  same 
in  the  strait,  especially  on  the  Terra  del  Fuego  side,  where  the  whales, 
in  particular,  are  exceedingly  numerous. 

Next  morning,  at  three  o'clock,  they  bore  up  for  the  east  end  of  Staten 
Land.  At  length,  after  making  a  few  boards,  fishing,  as  it  were,  for  the 
best  ground,  they  anchored  in  twenty-one  fathoms  water,  a  stony  bottom, 
about  a  mile  from  an  island.  After  dinner  hoisted  out  three  boats,  and 
landed  with  a  large  party  of  men  ;  some  to  kill  seals,  others  to  catch  or 
kill  birds,  fish,  or  what  came  in  their  way.  To  find  the  former  it  mattered 
not  where  they  landed,  for  the  shore  was  covered  with  them  ;  and  by  the 
noise  they  made  one  would  have  thought  the  island  was  stocked  with  cows 
and  calves.  They  were  a  diflferent  animal  from  seals,  but  in  shape  and 
motion  exactly  resembhng  them ;  they  called  them  lions,  on  account  of 
the  great  resemblance  the  male  has  to  that  beast. 

Next  day,  January  the  1st,  1775,  finding  that  nothing  was  wanting  but 
a  good  harbour  to  make  this  a  tolerable  place  for  ships  to  refresh  at,  whom 
chance  or  design  might  bring  hither,  sent  Mr.  Gilbert  over  to  Staten 
Land  in  the  cutter  to  look  for  one.  About  ten  o'clock  Mr.  Gilbert  re- 
turned from  Stalen  Land,  where  he  found  a  good  pore,  situated  three 
leagues  to  the  westward  of  Cape  St.  John.  It  may  be  known  by  some 
small  islands  lying  in  the  entrance. 

Having  left  the  land  in  the  evening  of  the  3d,  they  saw  it  again  next 
morning,  bearing  west.  Their  course  was  south-east,  with  a  view  of 
discovering  that  extensive  coast  laid  down  by  Mr.  Dalrymple  in  his  chart, 
in  which  is  the  Gulf  of  St.  Sebastian.  At  nme  o'clock,  on  the  14th, 
saw  an  island  of  ice,  as  they  then  thought,  but  at  noon  were  doubtful 
whether  it  was  ice  or  land.  They  had  but  little  wind  all  the  morning, 
and  at  two,  P.  M.,  it  fell  calm.  It  was  now  no  longer  doubted  that  it  was 
land,  and  not  ice,  in  sight.  It  was,  however,  in  a  manner  wholly  covered 
with  snow.  They  were  farther  confirmed  in  its  being  land,  by  finding 
soundings  at  175  fathoms  a  muddy  bottom. 

At  this  time  they  had  a  great  swell  from  the  south,  an  indication  that 


264  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

no  land  was  near  in  that  direction  ;  nevertiieless,  the  vast  quantity  of  snow 
on  that  in  sight  induced  them  to  think  it  was  extensive,  and  they  chose 
to  begin  with  exploring  the  northern  coast.  They  landed  at  three  different 
places,  displayed  their  colours,  and  took  possession  of  the  country  in  his 
majesty's  name,  under  a  discharge  of  small  arms.  They  called  the  bay- 
Possession  Bay.  It  is  situated  in  the  latitude  of  54  degrees  5  minutes 
south,  longitude  37  degrees  18  minutes  west,  and  eleven  leagues  to  the 
east  of  Cape  North.  A  few  miles  to  the  west  of  Possession  Bay,  between 
it  and  Cape  Bullcr,  lies  the  Bay  of  Isles,  so  named  on  account  of  several 
small  isles  lying  in  and  before  it. 

They  called  this  land  the  Isle  of  Georgia,  in  honour  of  his  majesty. 
It  is  situated  between  the  latitudes  of  53  degrees  57  minutes  and  54  de- 
grees 57  minutes  south,  and  between  38  degrees  13  minutes  and  35  de- 
grees 34  minutes  west  longitude  ;  is  thirty-one  leagues  long,  and  its 
greatest  breadth  is  about  ten  leagues.  It  seems  to  abound  wijh  bays  and 
harbours,  the  north-east  coast  especially  ;  but  the  vast  quantity  of  ice  must 
render  them  inaccessible  the  greatest  part  of  the  year. 

On  the  25th  steered  east-south-east,  v/ith  a  fresh  gale.  They  now 
reckoned  to  be  in  latitude  63  degrees  south,  and  farther  they  did  not  in- 
tend to  go,  unless  they  observed  some  certain  signs  of  soon  meeting  with 
land. 

They  continued  to  stand  to  the  east  till  the  28th,  when  they  fell  in,  all 
at  once,  with  a  vast  number  of  large  ice  islands,  and  a  sea  strewed  with 
loose  ice.  At  half-past  six,  on  tho  31st,  staiiding  north-north-east,  with 
the  wind  at  west,  the  fog  very  fortunately  clearing  away  a  little,  they  dis- 
covered land  ahead,  three  or  four  miles  distant.  It  extended  from  north 
by  east  to  east-south-east,  and  was  called  Cape  Bristol,  in  honour  of  the 
noble  family  of  Hervey.  They  called  this  laud  Southern  Thule,  because 
it  is  the  most  southern  land  that  has  ever  yet  been  discovered.  It  shows 
a  surface  of  vast  height,  and  is  everywhere  covered  with  snow. 

On  the  1  St  of  February,  at  four  in  the  morning,  got  sight  of  a  new  coast, 
which,  at  six  o'clock,  bore  north  60  degrees  east.  It  proved  a  high  pro- 
montory, which  was  named  Gape  Montagu,  situated  in  latitude  58  degrees 
27  minutes  south,  longitude  26  degrees  44  minutes  west,  and  seven  or 
eight  leagues  to  the  north  of  Cape  IJristol.  Continuing  to  steer  to  the 
north  all  night,  on  the  2d  anew  land  was  seen,  bearing  north  12  degrees 
east,  about  ten  leagues  distant.  It  appeared  in  two  hummock  just 
peeping  above  the  horizon.  The  weather  was  now  become  very  hazy, 
which  soon  turning  to  a  thick  fog,  put  a  stop  to  discovery,  and  made  it 
unsafe  to  stand  for  the  shore.  Thus  they  were  obliged  to  leave  it,  under 
the  supposition  of  it  being  an  island,  which  was  named  Saunders,  after  Sir 
Charles.  I'hey  stood  to  the  north,  having  a  light  breeze  at  west  by  south. 
At  this  time  they  saw  the  Jand,  which  proved  to  be  two  isles.  The  day 
on  which  they  were  discovered  was  the  occasion  of  calling  them  Can- 
dlemas Isles  ;  latitude  57  degrees  11  minutes  south,  longitude  27  degrees 
6  minutes  west. 

At  daybreak,  on  the  7th,  resumed  their  course  to  the  east,  with  a  very 
fresh  gale  at  south-west  by  west,  attended  by  a  high  sea  from  the  same 
direction.  Toward  noon,  on  the  14th,  the  wind,  veering  to  the  south,  in- 
creased to  a  very  strong  gale,  and  blew  in  heavy  squalls,  attended  with 
snow.  They  continued  to  steer  east,  inclining  a  little  to  the  north,  and 
in  the  afternoon  crossed  the  first  meridian,  or  that  of  Greenwich,  in  the 
latitude  of  37  degrees  50  minutes  south. 

Thev  had  now  made  the  circuit  of  the  southern  ocean,  in  a  high  latitude, 


JAMES  COOK.  263 

*nd  traversed  it  in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave  not  the  least  room  for  the 
possibility  of  there  bei^g  a  continent,  unless  near  the  pole,  and  out  of  the 
reach  of  navigation.  By  twice  visiting  the  tropical  sea,  they  had  not  only 
settled  the  situation  of  some  old  discoveries,  but  made  there  many  new 
ones,  and  left  very  little  more  to  be  done  even  in  that  part.  These  con- 
siderations induced  them  to  lay  aside  looking  for  the  French  discoveries 
of  Bouvet,  and  to  steer  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  ;  with  a  resolation, 
however,  of  looking  for  the  Isles  of  Denia  and  Marseveen,  laid  down  in 
Dr.  Halley's  variation  chart  in  the  latitude  of  41i  degrees  south,  and  about 
4  degrees  of  longitude  to  the  east  of  the  meridian  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope. 

At  daylight,  on  the  16th  of  March,  saw  two  sail  in  the  north-west  quar- 
ter, standing  to  the  westward,  and  one  of  them  showing  Dutch  colours.  At 
ten  o'clock  tacked  and  stood  to  the  west  also,  being  at  this  time  in  the 
latitude  of  39  degrees  9  minutes  south,  longitude  22  degrees  38  minutes 
east.  In  the  evening  of  the  I7th  saw  land  in  the  direction  of  east- 
north-east,  about  six  leagues  distant ;  and  during  the  fore-part  of  the 
night  there  was  a  great  fire  or  light  upon  it.  At  nine  o'clock,  having  little 
or  no  wind,  hoisted  out  a  boat,  and  sent  on  board  one  of  the  two  ships 
before-mentioned,  which  were  about  two  leagues  from  them ;  but  they 
were  too  impatient  after  news  to  regard  the  distance.  At  one,  P.  M., 
the  boat  returned  from  on  board  the  Bownkerke  Polder,  Captain  Cornelius 
Bosch,  a  Dutch  Indiaman  from  Bengal.  Captain  Bosch  very  obligingly, 
offered  sugar,  arrack,  and  whatever  he  had  to  spare.  Our  people  were 
told  by  some  English  seamen  on  board  this  ship,  that  the  Adventure  had 
arrived  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  twelve  months  ago,  and  that  the  crew 
of  one  of  her  boats  had  been  murdered  and  eaten  by  the  people  of  New 
Zealand  ;  so  that  the  story  heard  in  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound  was  now 
no  longer  a  mystery. 

The  next  morning,  being  with  them  Wednesday,  the  22d,  but  with  the 
people  here  Tuesday,  the  21st,  they  anchored  in  Table  Bay,  where  they 
found  several  Dutch  ships,  some  French,  and  the  Ceres,  Captain  Newte, 
an  English  East  India  company's  ship,  from  China,  bound  directly  to 
England,  by  whom  Cook  sent  a  copy  of  the  preceding  part  of  this  journal, 
some  charts,  and  other  drawings,  to  the  admiralty. 

By  the  26th  of  April  the  work  was  finished  ;  and  having  got  on  board 
all  necessary  stores  and  a  fresh  sapply  of  provisions  and  water,  they  took 
leave  of  the  governor  and  other  principal  officers,  and  the  next  morning 
repaired  on  board.  At  daybreak,  in  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  May,  saw 
the  Island  of  St.  Helena  at  the  distance  of  fourteen  leagues  ;  and  at  mid- 
night anchored  in  the  road  before  the  town,  on  the  norUi-west  side  of  the 
island. 

In  the  morning  of  the  28th  made  Ascension  ;  and  the  same  evening  an- 
chored in  Cross  Bay,  on  the  north-west  side,  in  ten  fathoms  water  ;  the 
bottom  a  fine  sand,  and  half  a  mile  from  the  shore.  The  island  is  about 
ten  miles  in  length  and  five  or  six  in  breadth.  It  shows  a  surface  com- 
posed of  barren  hills  and  valleys,  on  the  most  of  which  not  a  shrub  or  plant 
is  to  be  seen  for  several  miles,  and  where  they  found  nothing  but  stones 
and  sand,  or  rather  flags  and  ashes  ;  an  indubitable  sign  that  theisle,  at 
some  remote  time,  has  been  destroyed  by  a  volcano,  which  has  thrown 
up  vast  heaps  of  stones,  and  even  hills.  Between  these  heaps  of  stones 
they  found  a  smooth  even  surface,  composed  of  ashes  and  sand,  and 
very  good  travelling  upon  it ;  but  one  may  as  easily  walkover  broken  glass- 
bottles  as  over  the  stones 

23 


26^  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WaRLD. 

Turtle  are  to  be  found  at  this  isle  from  January  to  June.  The  method 
©f  catchiug  them  is  to  iiave  peojJe  upon  the  several  sandy  bays,  to  watch 
their  coming  oa  shore  to  lay  their  eggs,  which  is  always  in  the  night,  and 
then  to  turn  them  on  their  backs,  till  there  be  an  opportunity  to  take, 
them  off  the  next  day.  It  is  recommended  to  send  a  good  many  men  to 
each  beach,  where  they  were  to  lie  quiet  till  the  turtle  were  ashore,, 
and  then  rise  and  turn  them  at  once.  This  method  may  be  the  best 
when  the  turtle  are  numerous  ;  but  when  there  are  but  few,  three  or  four 
men  are  sufficient  for  the  largest  beach  ;  and  if  they  keep  patrolling  it 
close  to  the  wash  of  the  surf  during  the  night,  by  this  method  they  will 
see  all  that  com^e  ashore,  and  cause  less  noise  than  if  there  were  more  of 
them.  It  was  by  this  method  they  caught  the  most ;  and  this  is  the 
method  by  which  the  Americans  take  them.  Nothing  is  more  certain, 
than  that  all  the  turtle  which  are  found  about  this  island  come  here  for 
the  sole  purpose  ©■f  laying  their  eggs,  for  they  met  with  none  but  females  ; 
and  of  all  those  which  were  caught,  not  one  had  any  food  worth  mention- 
ing in  its  stomach  ;  a  sure  sign  that  they  must  have  been  a  long  time 
without  any  ;  and  this  may  be  the  reason  why  the  flesh  of  thorn  is  not  so 
good  as  some  they  had  eaten  on  the  coast  of  New  South  Wales,  which 
were  caught  on  the  spot  where  they  fed. 

On  the  9th  of  June,  at  noon,  made  the  Island  o(  Fernando  de  Noronha, 
bearing  south-west  by  west  half  west,  distant  six  or  seven  leagues,  as 
they  afterward  found  by  the  log.  It  appeared  in  detached  and  peaked 
hills,  the  largest  of  which  looked  like  a  church  tower  or  steeple. 

After  standing  very  near  the  rocks,  they  hoisted  their  colours,  and  then 
bore  up  round  the  north  end  of  the  isle,  or  rather  round  a  group  of  little 
isles  ;  for  they  could  see  that  the  land  was  divided  by  narrow  channels. 
There  is  a  strong  fort  on  the  one  next  the  main  island,  where  there  are 
several  others,  all  of  which  seemed  to  have  every  advantage  that  nature 
can  give  them  ;  and  they  are  so  disposed  as  wholly  to  command  all  the 
anchoring  and  landing  places  about  the  island. 

This  road  seems  to  be  well  sheltered  from  the  south  and  east  svinds. 
One  of  the  seamen  had  been  on  board  a  Dutch  India  ship,  who  put  in  at 
this  isle  on  her  way  out  in  1770.  They  were  very  sickly,  and  in  want  of 
refreshments  and  water.  The  Portuguese  supplied  them  with  some  buf- 
faloes and  fowls  ;  and  they  watered  behind  one  of  the  beaches,  in  a  little 
pool.  By  reducing  the  observed  latitude,  at  noon,  to  the  peaked  hill,  its 
latitude  will  be  3  degrees  53  minutes  south,  and  its  longitude  by  the 
watch,  carried  on  from  St.  Helena,  is  32  degrees  34  minutes  west. 

On  the  11th,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  they  crossed  the  equator 
in  the  longitude  of  33  degrees  14  minutes  west.  At  five  o'clock  in  the 
evening  of  the  13th  of  July,  made  the  Island  of  Fayal,  one  of  the 
Azores,  and  soon  after  that  of  Pico.  Fresh  provisions  for  present  use 
may  be  got,  such  as  beef,  vegetables,  and  fruit ;  and  hogs,  sheep,  and 
poultry  for  sea  stock,  all  at  a  pretty  reasonable  price.  The  bullocks  and 
hogs  are  very  good,  but  the  sheep  are  small  and  wretchedly  poor.  The 
principal  produce  of  Fayal  is  wheat  and  Indian  corn,  vrith  which  they 
supply  Pico  and  some  of  the  other  isles.  The  chief  town  is  called  Villa 
de  Horta.  It  is  situated  at  the  bottom  of  the  bay,  close  to  the  edge  of 
the  sea,  and  is  defended  by  two  castles,  one  at  each  end  of  the  town, 
and  a  wall  of  stone-work,  extending  along  the  sea-shore  from  the  one  to 
the  other.  Fayal,  although  the  most  noted  for  wines,  does  not  raise  suf- 
ficient for  its  own  consumption.  This  article  is  raised  on  Pico,  where 
ihere  is  no  road  for  shipping  ;  but  being  brought  to  De  Horta,  and  from 


JAMES  COOK.  267 

thence  shipped  abroad,  chiefly  to  America,  it  has  acquired  the  name  of 
Fayal  wine. 

On  tlie  29th  they  made  the  land  near  Plymoutlj.  The  next  morning 
anchored  at  Spithead  :  and  the  same  day  Captain  Cook  landed  at  Ports- 
month,  and  set  out  for  London  in  company  with  Messrs.  Wales,  Forster, 
and  Hodges. 


CAPTAIN  COOK'S  THIRD  VOYAGE.— 1776-80, 

Captain  Cook  having,  on  the  9th  day  of  February,  1776,  received  a 
commission  to  command  his  majesty's  sloop  the  Resolutionj  went  on 
board  the  next  day,  hoisted  the  pendant,  and  began  to  enter  men.  At  the 
same  time  the  Discovery,  of  three  hundred  tons  burthen,  was  purchased 
into  the  service,  and  the  command  of  her  given  to  Captain  Clerke,  who 
iiad  been  his  second  lieutenant  on  board  the  Resolution,  in  the  second 
voyage  round  the  world. 

As  they  were  to  touch  at  Otaheite  and  the  Society  Islands,  it  had  been 
determined  not  to  omit  this  opportunity  (the  only  one  ever  likely  to  hap- 
pen) of  carrying  Omai  back  to  his  native  country.  He  left  London  with 
a  mixture  of  regret  and  satisfaction.  He  was  furnished,  by  his  majesty, 
with  an  ample  provision  of  every  article  which,  during  the  intercourse 
with  his  country,  they  had  observed  to  be  in  any  estimation  there,  either 
as  useful  or  as  ornamental.  He  had,  besides,  received  many  presents 
of  the  same  nature  from  Lord  Sandwich,  Mr.  Banks,  and  several  other 
gentlemen  and  ladies  of  his  acquaintance.  In  short,  every  method  had 
been  employed,  both  during  his  abode  in  England  and  at  his  departure, 
to  make  him  the  instrument  of  conveying  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  islands 
of  the  Pacific  Ocean  the  most  exalted  opinion  of  tho  greatness  and 
generosity  of  the  British  nation. 

The  Resolution  sailed  on  the  12th  of  July,  the  Discovery  being  to  follow 
her.  ■  At  four  in  the  afternoon  of  the  3ist  saw  Teneriffc,  and  steered 
for  the  eastern  part.  Having  completed  their  water,  and  got  on  board 
every  other  thing  they  wanted  at  this  island,  weighed  anchor  on  the  4th 
of  Angust,  and  proceeded  on  their  voyage,  with  a  fine  gale  at  north-east. 
On  the  17ih  of  October  had  sight  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  ;  and 
the  next  day  anchored  in  Table  Bay,  in  four  fathoms  water.  In  the 
morning  of  the  10th  of  November  the  Discovery  arrived  in  the  bay. 
Captain  Clerke  had  sailed  fro ir^Ply mouth  on  the  1st  of  August,  and 
should  have  been  here  a  week  sooner,  if  the  gale  of  wind  had  not  blown 
him  oiF  the  coast. 

In  the  niorning  of  the  30th  they  repaired  on  board.  At  five  in  the 
afternoon  a  breeze  sprung  up  at  south-east,  with  which  they  weighed, 
and  stood  oat  of  the  bay.  On  the  12th  of  December,  at  noon,  saw  land 
extending  from  south-east  by  south  to  south-east  by  east.  Upon  a  nearer 
approach,  found  it  to  be  two  islands.  The  distance  from  the  one  to  the 
other  is  about  five  leagues.  They  seemed  to  have  a  rocky  and  bold  shore ; 
and,  excepting  the  south-east  parts,  where  the  land  is  rather  low  and  flat, 
a  surface  composed  of  barren  mountains,  which  rise  to  aconsiderable  height, 
and  whose  summits  and  sides  were  covered  with  snow.  These  two  islands, 
as  also  four  others  which  lie  from  nine  to  twelve  degrees  of  longitude 
more  to  the  east,  and  nearly  in  the  same  latitude,  were  discovered  by 
Captains  Marion  du  Fiesne  and  Crozet,  f>ench  navigators,  in  January, 
1772.     The  two  they  now  saw  were  called  Prince  Edward's  Islands, 


268  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

after  his  majesty's  fourth  son  ;  and  the  other  four  by  the  name  of  Marion's 
and  Crozet's  Islands,  to  crtmmemorate  their  discoverers. 

On  the  34th,  in  the  morning,  the  fog  clearing  away  a  little,  they  saw 
land,  bearing  south-riouth-east,  an  island  of  considerable  height,  and  aliout 
three  leagues  in  circuit.  Soon  after  saw  another  of  the  same  magnitude, 
one  league  to  the  eastward ;  and  between  these  two,  in  the  direction  of 
south-east,  some  smaller  ones.  In  the  direction  of  south  by  east  half 
east,  from  the  east  end  of  the  first  island,  a  third  high  island  was  seen. 
They  did  but  just  weather  the  island  last  mentioned.  It  is  a  high  round 
rock,  which  \\;is  named  Bligh's  Cap.  Soon  after  saw  the  land  of  which 
thev  had  a  faint  view  in  ihe  morning.  About  the  middle  there  appeared 
to  be  an  inlet,  for  which  they  steered  ;  but,  on  approaching,  found  it 
was  a  bending  in  the  coast,  and  there.^ore  bore  up,  to  go  round  Cape 
St.  Louis.  At  daybreak,  on  the  25th,  weighed  with  a  gentle  breeze  at 
■west  ;  and  having  wrought  ijito  a  harbour,  anchored  in  eight  fathoms 
water,  the  bottom  a  fine  dark  sand.  The  Discovery  did  not  get  in  till 
two  in  the  afternoon. 

As  soon  as  the  ships  were  again  out  of  Christmas  Harbour,  they  steered 
along  the  coast,  with  a  fine  breeze  at  north-north-west,  and  clear  weather. 
To  another  harbour  they  gave  the  name  of  Port  Palliser,  in  honour  of 
Admiral  Sir  Hugh  Palliser.  After  leaving  Kerguclen's  land  they  steered 
east  by  north,  intending,  in  obedience  to  instructions,  to  touch  next  at 
New  Zealand.  On  the  24th  of  January,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
discovered  the  coast  of  Van  Diemen's  Land,  bearing  north-west.  They 
stood  for  Adventure  Bay,  and  anchored  in  it  at  four  o'clock. 

In  the  afternoon  they  were  agreeably  surprised,  at  the  place  where 
they  were  cutting  wood,  with  a  visit  from  some  of  the  na'ives — eight 
men  and  a  boy.  They  approached  without  betraying  any  marks  of  fear, 
or  rather  with  the  greatest  confidence  imaginable  ;  for  none  of  them  had 
any  weapons. 

•  They  were  quite  naked,  and  wore  no  ornaments  ;  unless  we  consider 
as  such,  and  as  a  proof  of  their  love  of  finery,  some  large  punctures  or 
ridges  raised  on  different  parts  of  their  bodies,  some  in  straight,  and 
others  in  curved  lines. 

They  were  of  the  common  stature,  hut  rather  slender.  Their  skin  was 
black,  and  also  their  hair,  which  v;as  as  woolly  as  that  of  any  native  of 
Guinea  ;  but  they  vvore  not  distinguished  by  remarkable  thick  lips  nor 
flat  looses.  On  the  contrary,  their  features  were  far  from  being  disagree- 
able. They  had  pretty  good  eyes  ;  and  their  teeth  were  tolerably  even, 
but  very  dirty.  Most  of  them  had  theff  hair  and  beards  smeared  with  a 
red  ointment ;  and  some  had  their  faces  also  painted  with  the  same 
composition. 

Van  Diemen's  Land  has  been  twice  visited  before.  It  was  so  nanied  by 
Tasman,  who  discovered  it  in  November,  1642.  From  that  time  it  had 
escaped  all  farther  notice  bv  European  navigators,  till  Captain  Furneaux 
touched  at  it  in  March,  1773.  The  land  is,  for  the  most  part,  of  a  good 
height,  diversified  with  hills  and  valleys,  and  everywhere  of  a  greenish 
hue.  It  is  well  wooded  :  and  if  one  may  judge  from  appearances,  and 
from  what  they  met  with  in  Adventure  Biy,  is  not  ill  supplied  with  water. 
The  best,  or  what  is  most  convenient  for  ships  that  touch  here,  is  a 
rivulet,  v^hich  is  one  of  several  that  fall  into  a  pond  that  lies  behind  the 
beach  at  the  head  of  the  bay.  It  there  mixes  with  the  sea  water,  so 
that  it  must  be  taken  up  above  this  pond,  which  may  be  done  without  any 
great  trouble.     Fire  wood  is  to  be  got,  with  great  ease,  in  several  places. 


JAMES  COOK.  269 

At  eight  in  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  January,  a  h'ght  breeze  spring- 
ing up  at  west,  they  weighed  anchor,  and  put  to  sea  from  Adventure  Bay. 
On  the  10th  of  February  discovered  the  land  of  New  Zealand.  The 
part  they  saw  proved  to  be  Rock's  Point,  about  eight  or  nine  leagues  dis- 
tant. They  now  steered  for  Stephens's  Island,  which  they  came  up  with 
at  nine  o'clock  at  night ;  and  at  ten  next  morning  anchored  in  their  old 
station,  in  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound.  They  had  not  been  long  at  anchor 
before  several  canoes,  filled  with  natives,  came  alongside  of  the  ships, 
but  very  few  would  venture  on  board,  which  appeared  the  more  extra- 
ordinary, as  Cook  was  well  known  to  them  all.  There  was  one  man  in 
pHrlicular  among  them,  whom  he  had  treated  with  remarkable  kindness 
during  the  whole  of  his  stay  when  last  here.  Yet  now  neither  professions 
of  friendship  nor  presents  could  prevail  upon  him  to  come  into  the  ship. 
This  shyness  was  to  be  accounted  for  only  upon  the  supposition,  that  they 
were  apprehensive  they  had  revisited  their  country  in  order  to  revenge 
the  death  of  Captain  Furneaux's  people.  Seeing  Omai  on  board  now, 
whom  they  must  have  remembered  to  have  seen  on  board  the  Adventure 
when  the  melancholy  affair  happened,  and  whose  first  conversation  with 
them,  as  they  approached,  generally  turned  on  that  subject,  they  must 
be  well  assured  that  the  captain  was  no  longer  a  stranger  to  it.  He 
thought  it  necessary,  therefore,  to  use  every  endeavour  to  assure  them 
of  the  continuance  of  his  friendship,  and  that  he  should  not  disturb  them 
on  that  account.  Among  their  occasional  visiters  was  a  chief  named 
Kahoora,  who  headed  the  party  that  cut  off  Captain  Furneaux's  people, 
and  himself  killed  Mr.  Rowe,  the  oflicer  who  commanded.  To  judge 
of  the  character  of  Kahoora  by  what  they  heard  from  many  of  his  coun- 
trymen, he  seemed  to  be  more  feared  than  beloved  among  them.  Not 
satisfied  with  telling  Cook  that  he  was  a  very  bad  man,  some  of  them 
even  importuned  him  to  kill  him  ;  and  were  not  a  little  surprised  that 
he  did  not  listen  to  them  ;  for,  according  to  their  ideas  of  equity,  this 
ought  10  have  been  done. 

While  at  this  place,  curiosity  prompted  them  to  inquire  into  the  cir- 
cumstances attending  the  melancholy  fate  of  their  countrymen  ;  and  Omai 
was  made  use  of  as  interpreter  for  this  purpose.  Pedro,  and  the  rest  of 
the  natives  present,  answered  all  the  questions  that  were  put  to  them  on 
the  subject  without  reserve,  and  like  men  who  are  under  no  dread  of 
punishment  for  a  crime  of  which  they  are  not  guilty  ;  for  they  already 
knew  that  none  of  them  had  been  concerned  in  the  unhappy  transaction. 
They  said,  that  while  the  seamen  weie  sitting  at  dinner,  surrounded  by 
several  of  the  natives,  some  of  the  latter  stole,  or  snatched  from  them, 
some  bread  and  fish,  for  which  Sioy  were  beat.  This  being  resented,  a 
quarrel  ensued,  and  two  New  Zealanders  were  shot  dead,  by  the  only 
two  muskels  that  were  fired  ;  and  before  the  people  had  time  to  discharge 
a  third,  or  to  load  again  those  that  had  been  fired,  the  natives  rushed  in, 
overpowered  them  with  numbers,  and  put  them  all  to  death.  Pedro  and 
his  companions,  besides  relating  the  history  of  the  massacre,  made  them 
acquainted  with  the  very  spot  that  was  the  scene  of  it.  It  is  at  the  corner 
of  the  cove  on  the  right  hand.  They  pointed  to  the  place  of  the  sun, 
to  mark  at  what  hour  of  the  day  it  happened  ;  and,  according  to  this,  it 
must  have  been  late  in  the  afternoon.  They  also  showed  the  place  where 
the  boat  lay  ;  and  it  appeared  to  be  about  two  hundred  yards  distant  from 
that  where  the  crew  were  seated.  One  of  their  number,  a  black  servant 
of  Captain  Furneaux,  was  left  in  the  boat  to  take  care  of  her. 

For  some  time  before  they  arrived  at  New  Zealand,  Omai  had  expressed 
23* 


^70  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

a  desire  to  taice  one  of  the  natives  with  him  to  his  own  country.  They 
had  not  been  there  many  days,  before  he  had  an  opportunity  of  being 
gratified  in  this  ;  for  a  youth  about  seventeen  or  eighteen  years  of  age, 
named  Taweiharooa,  offered  to  accompany  him,  and  took  up  his  residence 
on  board.  That  Taweiharooa  might  be  sent  away  in  a  manner  becoming 
his  birth,  another  youth  was  to  have  gone  with  him  as  his  servant ;  and, 
with  this  view,  remained  on  board  till  they  were  about  to  sail,'  when  hia 
friends  took  him  ashore.  However,  his  place  was  supplied  next  morn- 
ing by  another,  a  boy  of  about  nine  or  ten  years  of  age,  named  Kokoa. 

On  the  25th  of  February,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  a  light  breeze 
springing  up  at  north-west  by  west,  they  weighed,  stood  out  of  the  sound, 
and  made  sail  through  the  strait,  with  the  Discovery  in  company.  On  the 
29th  of  March,  at  ten  in  the  morning,  standing  to  the  north-east,  the  Dis- 
covery made  the  signal  of  seeing  land.  They  soon  discovered  it  to  be  an 
island  of  no  great  extent,  and  stood  for  it  till  sunset. 

At  this  time  a  small  canoe  was  launched  in  a  great  hurry  from  the 
farther  end  of  the  beach,  and  a  man  getting  into  it,  put  off,  as  with  a  view 
to  reach  them  ;  after  some  time,  another  man  joined  him  in  the  canoe, 
and  then  they  both  paddled  toward  the  ship.  Still,  however,  they  would 
not  venture  on  board  ;  but  told  Omai,  who  understood  them  pretty  well, 
that  their  countrymen  on  shore  had  given  them  this  caution,  at  the  same 
time  directing  them  to  inquire  from  whence  the  ship  came,  and  to  learn 
the  name  of  the  captain.  The  English  inquired  the  name  of  the  island, 
which  they  called  Matigya  or  Mangeea  ;  and  sometimes  added  to  it  Nooe, 
naif  naiwa.  The  name  of  their  chief,  they  said,  was  Orooaeeka.  They  were 
obliged  to  leave,  unvisited,  this  island,  which  seemed  capable  of  supplying 
all  their  wants.  It  lies  in  the  latitude  of  21  degrees  57  minutes  south, 
and  in  the  longitude  of  201  degrees  53  minutes  east.  Such  parts  of  the 
coast  as  fell  under  their  observation  are  guarded  by  a  reef  of  coral  rock, 
on  the  outside  of  which  the  sea  is  of  an  unfathomable  depth.  It  is  full 
five  leagues  in  circuit,  and  of  a  moderate  and  pretty  equal  height.  The 
natives  of  Mangeea  seem  to  resemble  those  of  Otaheite  and  the  Marquesas, 
in  the  beauty  of  their  persons,  more  than  any  other  nation  in  these  seas  ; 
having  a  smooth  skin,  and  not  being  muscular.  Their  general  disposition 
also  corresponds,  as  far  as  they  had  opportunities  of  judging,  with  that 
which  distinguishes  the  first-mentioned  people. 

After  leaving  Mangeea,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  30th  of  March,  they 
continued  northward  all  that  night,  and  till  noon  on  the  81st,  when  they 
again  saw  land,  distant  eight  or  ten  leagues.  Next  morning,  at  eight 
o'clock,  had  got  within  four  leagues,  and  could  now  pronounce  it  to  be  an 
island,  nearly  of  the  same  appearance  ^d  extent  with  that  so  lately  left. 
At  the  same  time  another  island,  much  smaller,  was  seen  right  ahead. 
It  was  not  long,  when  three  canoes  came  alongside  of  the  Resolution,  each 
conducted  by  one  man.  They  are  long  and  narrow,  and  supported  by  out- 
riggers. Some  knives,  beads,  and  other  trifles,  were  conveyed  to  their 
visiters  ;  and  they  gave  a  few  cocoa  nuts  upon  asking  for  them.  Not  long 
after  a  double  canoe,  in  which  were  twelve  men,  came  toward  them.  As 
they  drew  near  the  ship,  they  recited  some  words  in  concert,  by  way  of 
chorus — one  of  their  i.umber  first  standing  up  and  giving  the  v^rord  before 
each  repetition.  When  they  had  finished  their  solemn  chant,  they  came 
alongside  and  asked  for  the  chief. 

At  three  in  the  alternoon  Mr.  Gore  returned,  and  said,  that  he  had  ex- 
amined all  the  west  side  of  the  island,  without  finding  a  place  where  a  boat 
could  land  or  the  ships  anchor,  the  shore  being  everywhere  bounded  by 


JAMES  COOK.  271 

a  st«ep  coral  rode,  against  which  the  sea  broke  in  a  dreadful  surf,  through 
which  some  of  them  swam  from  the  boats. 

Scarcely  had  Omai  landed,  when  he  found,  among  the  crowd,  three  of 
his  own  countrymen,  natives  of  the  Society  Islands.  At  the  distance  of 
about  two  hundred  leagues  from  those  islands,  an  immense  unknown  ocean 
intervening,  with  such  wretched  sea-boats  as  their  inhabitants  are  known 
to  make  use  of,  and  fit  only  for  a  passage  where  sight  of  land  is  scarcely 
ever  lost,  such  a  meeting,  at  such  a  place,  may  well  be  looked  upon  as 
one  of  those  unexpected  situations  with  which  the  writers  of  feigned 
adventures  love  to  surprise  their  readers.  It  may  easily  be  guessed  with 
what  mutual  surprise  and  satisfaction  they  engaged  in  conversation. 
Their  story  is  an  affecting  one.  About  twenty  persons,  of  both  sexes,  had 
embarked  on  board  a  canoe  at  Otaheite,  to  cross  over  to  the  neighbourmg 
island  Ulietea.  A  violent  contrary  wind  arising,  they  could  neither  reach 
the  latter  nor  get  back  to  the  former.  Their  intended  passage  being  a 
very  short  one,  their  stock  of  provisions  was  scanty,  and  soon  exhausted. 
The  hardships  they  suffered,  while  driven  along  by  the  storm  they  knew 
not  whither,  are  not  to  be  conceived.  They  passed  many  days  without 
having  anything  to  eat  or  drink.  Their  numbers  gradually  diminished, 
worn  out  by  famine  and  fatigue.  Four  men  only  survived,  when  the  canoe 
overset ;  and  then  the  perdition  of  this  small  remnant  seemed  inevitable. 
However,  they  kept  hanging  by  the  side  of  their  vessel  during  some  of 
the  last  days,  till  Providence  brought  them  in  sight  of  the  people  of  this 
island,  who  immediately  sent  out  canoes,  took  them  off  their  wreck,  and 
brought  them  ashore.  Of  the  four  who  were  thus  saved,  one  was  since 
dead.  The  other  three,  who  lived  to  have  this  opportunity  of  giving  aa 
account  of  their  almost  miraculous  transplantation,  spoke  highly  of  the 
kind  treatment  they  here  met  with.  And  so  well  satisfied  were  they  with 
their  situation,  that  they  refused  the  offer  made  to  them  by  the  gentlemen, 
at  Omai's  request,  of  giving  them  a  passage  to  their  native  islands.  The 
similarity  of  manners  and  language  had  more  than  naturalized  them  to  this 
spot ;  and  the  fresh  connexions  which  they  had  here  formed,  and  which 
it  would  have  been  painful  to  have  broken  off,  after  such  a  length  of  time, 
sufficiently  account  for  their  declining  to  revisit  the  places  of  their  birth. 
They  had  arrived  upon  this  island  at  least  twelve  years  ago. 

This  island  is  called  Wateeoo  by  the  natives.  It  lies  in  the  latitude  of 
20  degrees  1  minute  south,  and  in  the  longitude  of  20  degrees  45  minutes 
east,  and  is  about  six  leagues  in  circumference.  It  is  a  beautiful  spot, 
with  a  surface  composed  of  hills  and  plains,  and  covered  with  verdure  of 
many  hues. 

Light  airs  had  carried  the  ships  some  distance  from  Wateeoo  before 
daybreak.  They  therefore  steered  for  a  neighbouring  island,  discovered 
three  days  before.  This  island  lies  in  the  latitude  of  19  degrees  6 1  minutes 
south,  and  the  longitude  of  201  degrees  37  minutes  east,  about  three  or 
four  leagues  from  Wateeoo,  the  inhabitants  of  which  called  it  Otakootaia  ; 
and  sometimes  they  spoke  of  it  under  the  appellation  of  Wenooa-ette, 
which  signities  little  island.  They  made  sail  again  to  the  northward,  in- 
tending to  try  their  fortune  at  Hervey's  Island,  discovered  in  1773.  As 
they  kept  on  toward  it,  six  or  seven  of  the  canoes,  all  double  ones,  soon 
came  near.  There  were  from  three  to  six  men  in  each.  They  stopped 
at  the  distance  of  about  a  stone's  throw  from  the  ship  ;  and  it  was  soma 
time  before  Omai  could  prevail  upon  them  to  come  alongside  ;  but  no  en- 
treaties could  mduce  any  of  them  to  venture  on  board.  Indeed,  their 
disorderly  and  clamorous  behaviour  by  no  means  indicated  a  disposition 


272  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLF. 

to  trust,  or  treat  them  well.  These  people  seemed  to  differ  as  much  m 
person  as  in  disposition  from  the  natives  of  Wateeoo ;  though  the  distance 
between  the  two  islands  is  not  very  great.  Their  colour  was  of  a  deepei 
cast ;  and  several  had  a  fierce,  rugged  aspect,  resembling  the  natives  of 
New  Zealand  ;  but  some  were  fairer. 

At  daybreak,  on  the  13th,  they  saw  Palmerston  Island,  bearing  west 
by  south,  distant  about  five  leagues.  What  is  comprehended  under  this 
name  is  a  group  of  small  isles,  of  which  there  are,  in  the  whok,  nine  or 
ten,  lying  in  a  circular  direction,  and  connected  together  by  a  reef  of  coral 
rocks. 

In  the  night,  between  th«  24th  and  25th,  they  passed  Savage  Island, 
discovered  in  1774  ;  and  on  the  28th,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  got 
to  Annamooka. 

The  following  day,  while  preparations  were  making  for  watering,  Cook 
went  ashore  in  the  forenoon,  accompanied  by  Captain  Clerke  and  some  of 
the  officers,  to  fix  on  a  place  where  the  observatories  might  be  set  up, 
and  a  guard  be  stationed  ;  the  natives  having  readily  given  leave  Too- 
bou,  the  chief  of  the  island,  conducted  him  and  Omai  to  his  house.  They 
found  it  situated  on  a  pleasant  spot,  in  the  centre  of  his  plantation.  A 
fine  grass-plot  surrounded  it,  which,  he  gave  them  to  understand,  was  for 
the  purpose  of  cleaning  their  feet  before  they  went  within  doors.  They 
had  not  before  observed  such  an  instance  of  attention  to  cleanliness  at  any 
of  the  places  in  this  ocean  ;  but  afterward  found  that  it  was  very  common 
at  the  Friendly  Islands.  The  floor  of  Toobou's  house  was  covered  with 
mats  ;  and  no  carpet,  in  the  most  elegant  English  drawing-room,  could 
be  kept  neater.  While  on  shore,  they  procured  a  few  hogs  and  some  fruit, 
by  bartering  ;  and,  before  they  got  on  board  again,  the  ships  were  crowded 
with  the  natives.  Few  coming  empty-handed,  every  necessary  refresh- 
ment was  now  in  the  greatest  plenty. 

On  the  6th  they  were  visited  by  a  great  chief  from  Tongataboo,  whose 
name  was  Feenou,  and  whom  Taipa  was  pleased  to  introduce  as  king  of 
all  the  Friendly  Isles.  The  officer  on  shore  informed  Cook  that,  when 
he  first  arrived,  all  the  natives  were  ordered  out  to  meet  him,  and  paid 
their  obeisance  by  bowing  their  heads  as  low  as  his  feet,  the  soles  of  which 
they  also  touched  with  each  hand,  first  with  the  palm  and  then  with  the 
back  part.  There  could  be  little  room  to  suspect  that  a  person  received 
with  so  much  respect  could  be  anything  less  than  the  king. 

In  the  afternoon  he  went  to  pay  this  great  man  a  visit,  having  first  re- 
ceived a  present  of  two  fish  from  him,  brought  on  board  by  one  of  his 
servants.  He  appeared  to  be  about  thirty  years  of  age,  tall,  but  thin,  and 
had  more  of  the  European  features  than  any  yet  seen  here.  When  the 
first  salutation  was  over.  Cook  asked  if  he  was  the  king.  Taipa  officiary 
answered  for  him,  and  enumerated  no  less  than  153  islands,  of  which,  he 
said,  Feenou  was  the  sovereign.  After  a  short  stay,  their  new  visiter 
and  five  or  six  of  his  attendants  accompanied  the  captain  on  board,  who 
gave  suitable  presents  to  all,  and  entertained  them  in  such  a  manner  as 
he  thought  would  be  agreeable. 

Feenou,  understanding  that  he  meant  to  proceed  directly  to  Tongata- 
boo, importuned  him  strongly  to  alter  this  plan,  to  which  he  expressed  as 
much  aversion  as  if  be  had  some  particular  interest  to  promote.  In  pre- 
ference to  it,  he  warmly  recommended  an  island,  or  rather  a  group  of 
islands,  called  Happaee,  lying  to  the  north-east.  There,  he  assured  him, 
they  could  be  supplied  plentifully  with  every  refreshment  in  the  easiest 
manner  j  and,  to  add  weight  to  his  advice,  engaged  to  attend  theia  thither 


JAMES  COOit.  2?3 

m  person.  At  daybreak,  on  the  16th,  steered  north-east  for  Hapaee,  now 
in  sight  ;  and  they  could  judge  it  to  be  low  land,  from  the  trees  only  ap- 
pearing above  the  water.  About  nine  o'clock  could  see  it  plainly  forming 
three  islands,  nearly  of  an  equal  size  ;  and  soon  after  a  fourth,  to  the 
southward  of  these,  as  large  as  the  others.  Each  seemed  to  bo  about  six 
or  seven  miles  long,  and  of  a  similar  height  and  appearance.  They  now 
despatched  a  boat  to  look  for  anchorage.  A  proper  place  was  soon  found, 
and  they  came-to  abreast  of  a  reef,  being  that  which  joins  licfooga  to 
Foa,  ia  the  same  manner  that  Foa  is  joined  to  Haanno. 

The  chief  conducted  Cook  to  a  house,  or  rather  a  hut,  situated  close 
to  the  sea-beach,  brought  thither  but  a  few  minutes  before  for  their  re* 
ception.  In  this  Feenou,  Omai,  and  the  captain,  were  seated.  The  other 
chiefs  and  the  multitude  composed  a  circle,  on  the  outside,  fronting  them  ; 
Md  they  also  sat  down.  He  was  then  asked  how  long  he  intended  to 
itay.  On  his  saying,  five  days,  Taipa  was  ordered  to  come  and  sit  by 
ihim,  and  proclaim  this  to  the  people.  He  then  addressed  them  in  a 
speech  mostly  dictated  by  Feenou.  The  purport  of  it  was,  that  they 
were  all,  both  old  and  young,  to  look  upon  him  as  a  friend,  who  intended 
to  remain  with  them  a  few  days  ;  that,  during  his  stay,  they  must  not 
steal  anything,  nor  molest  him  any  other  way  ;  and  that  it  was  expected 
they  should  bring  hogs,  fowls,  fruit,  «Scc.,  to  the  ships,  where  they  would 
receive,  in  exchange  for  them,  such  and  such  things,  which  he  enutnerated. 
Soon  after  Taipa  had  finished  this  address  to  the  assembly,  Feenou  left 
them.  Taipa  then  took  occasion  to  signify,  that  it  was  necessary  the 
captain  should  make  a  present  to  the  chief  of  the  island,  whose  name  was 
Earoupa.  He  was  not  unprepared  for  this,  and  gave  him  such  articles  as 
far  exceeded  his  expectation.  His  liberality  brought  demands  of  the  same 
kind  from  two  chiefs  of  other  isles,  who  were  present,  and  from  Taipa 
himself.  When  Feenou  returned,  which  was  immediately  after  Captain 
Cook  had  made  the  last  of  these  presents,  he  pretended  to  be  angry  with 
Taipa  for  suffering  him  to  give  away  so  much  ;  but  he  looked  upon  this 
as  a  mere  finesse,  being  confident  that  he  acted  in  concert  with  the  others. 
He  now  took  his  seat  again,  and  ordered  Earoupa  to  sit  by  him,  and  to 
harangue  the  people  as  Taipa  had  done,  and  to  the  same  purpose,  dic- 
tating, as  before,  the  heads  of  the  speech. 

About  noon  a  large  sailing  canoe  came  under  the  stern,  in  which  was 
a  person  named  Futtafaihe,  or  Poulaho,  or  both  ;  who,  as  the  natives 
then  on  board  said,  was  King  of  Tongataboo  and  of  all  the  neighbour- 
ing islands.  It  was  a  matter  of  surprise  to  have  a  stranger  introduced 
under  this  character,  which  they  had  so  much  reason  to  believe  really 
belonged  to  another.  But  they  persisted  in  their  account  of  the  supreme 
dignity  of  this  new  visiter ;  and  now,  for  the  first  time,  owned  that 
Feenou  was  not  the  king,  but  only  a  subordinate  chief,  though  of  great 
power,  as  he  was  often  sent  from  Tongataboo  to  the  other  islands  on 
warlike  expeditions,  or  to  decide  differences.  It  being  their  interest,  as 
well  as  inclination,  to  pay  court  to  all  the  great  men  without  making 
inquiry  into  the  validity  of  their  assumed  titles,  they  invited  Poulaho  on 
board.  He  could  not  be  an  unwelcome  guest ;  for  he  brought  with  him, 
as  a  present,  two  good  fat  hogs,  though  not  so  fat  as  himself.  If  weight 
of  body  could  give  weight  in  rank  or  power,  he  was  certainly  the  most 
eminent  man,  in  that  respect,  they  had  seen  ;  for  though  not  very  tall, 
he  was  very  unwieldy,  and  almost  shapeless  witli  corpulence.  He  seemed 
to  be  about  forty  years  of  age,  had  straight  hair,  and  his  features  differ- 
ed a  good  deal  from  those  of  the  bulk  of  his  people.     They  found  hitn 


274  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

to  be  a  sedate,  sensible  man.  '  He  viewed  the  ship  and  the  several  new 
objects  with  uncommon  attention,  and  asked  many  pertinent  questions  ; 
one  of  which  was,  what  could  induce  them  to  visit  these  islands.  After 
he  had  satisfied  his  curiosity  in  looking  at  the  cattle  and  other  novelties 
"whichJie  met  with  upon  deck,  the  captain  desired  him  to  walk  down  into 
the  cabin.  To  this  some  of  his  attendants  objected,  saying,  that  if  he 
were  to  accept  of  that  invitation,  it  must  happen  that  people  would 
walk  over  his  head,  which  could  not  be  permitted.  Cook  directed 
Omai  to  tell  them  that  he  would  obviate  their  object,  by  giving  orders 
that  no  one  should  presume  to  walk  upon  that  part  of  the  deck  which 
was  over  the  cabin.  Whether  this  expedient  would  have  satisfied  them 
was  far  from  appearing  ;  but  the  chief  himself,  less  scrupulous  in  this 
respect  than  his  attendants,  waved  all  ceremony,  and  walked  down  with- 
out any  stipulation. 

Poulaho  sat  down  to  dinner ;  but  ate  little,  and  drank  less.  When 
they  rose  from  the  table,  he  desired  Cook  to  accompany  him  ashore. 
Omai  was  asked  to  be  of  the  party  ;  but  he  was  too  faithfully  attached 
to  Feenou  to  show  any  attention  to  his  competitor  ;  arKl,  therefore,  ex- 
cused himself.  The  captain  attended  the  chief  in  his  own  boat,  having 
first  made  presents  to  him  of  such  articles  as  he  could  observe  he  valued 
much,  and  were  even  beyond  his  expectation  to  receive.  He  was  not 
disappointed  in  the  view  of  thus  securing  his  friendship  ;  for  the  moment 
the  boat  reached  the  beach,  and  before  he  quitted  her,  he  ordered  two  more 
hogs  to  be  brought  and  delivered  to  the  people  to  be  conveyed  on  board. 

On  the  4ih,  at  seven  in  the  morning,  they  weighed  ;  and,  with  a  fresh 
gale  from  the  east-south-east,  stood  away  for  Annamooka,  where  they 
anchored  riext  morning,  nearly  in  the  same  station  they  had  so  lately  oc- 
cupied. About  noon,  next  day,  Feenou  arrived  from  Vavaoo.  He  told 
them  that  several  canoes,  laden  with  hogs  and  other  provisions,  which 
had  sailed  with  him  from  that  island,  had  been  lost,  owing  to  the  late 
blowing  weather ;  that  everybody  on  board  had  perished.  This  melan- 
choly tale  did  not  seem  to  aflfeet  any  of  his  countrymen  who  heard  it ; 
and  they  were,  by  this  time,  too  well  acquainted  with  his  character  to 
give  much  credit  to  such  a  story.  The  following  morning  Poulaho  and 
the  other  chiefs,  who  had  been  wind-bound  with  him,  arrived.  The 
captain  happened  at  this  time  to  be  ashore,  in  company  with  Feenou,  who 
seemed  sensible  of  the  impropriety  of  his  conduct  in  assuming  a  charac- 
ter that  did  not  belong  to  him.  For  he  not  only  acknowledged  Poulaho 
to  be  King  of  Tongataboo  and  the  other  isles,  but  affected  to  insist  much 
on  it,  with  a  view  to  make  amervds  for  his  former  presumption. 

At  eight  o'clock  next  morning  they  weighed,  and  steered  for  Tongata- 
boo, having  a  gentle  breeze  at  north-ea-st.  About  fourteen  or  fifteen 
sailing  vessels,  belonging  to  the  natives,  set  out  with  them  ;  but  every 
one  of  them  outrun  the  ships  considerably.  Soon  after  they  had  anchored, 
Cook  landed,  accompanied  by  Omai  and  some  of  the  officers.  They  found 
the  king  waiting  upon  the  beach.  He  immediately  conducted  them  ta  a 
small  neat  house,  situated  a  little  within  the  skirts  of  the  wood,  with  a 
fine  large  area  before  it.  This  house,  he  told  him,  was  at  his  service 
during  his  stay  at  the  island  ;  and  a  better  situation  he  could  not  wish  for. 

Toward  noon,  Poulaho  brought  with  him  his  son<  a  youth  about  twelve 
years  of  age.  Cook  had  his  company  at  dinner ;  but  his  smi,  though 
present,  was  not  allowed  to  sit  down  with  him.  It  was  very  convenient 
to  have  him  for  a  guest  ;  (jpr  when  he  was  present,  which  was  genera'ly 
the  case,  every  other  native  was  excluded  from  the  table,  and  but  few 


JAMES  COOK.  275 

of  them  would  remain  in  the  cabin.  By  this  time  they  had  acquired 
some  certain  information  about  the  relative  situations  of  the  several  great 
men  ;  Mareewagee  and  old  Toobou  were  brothers.  Both  of  them  were 
men  of  great  property  in  the  island,  and  seemed  to  be  in  high  estimation 
with  the  people  ;  the  former,  in  particular,  had  the  very  honourable  ap- 
pellation given  to  him  by  everybody  of  Motooa  Tonga ;  that  is  to  say, 
Father  of  Tonga,  or  of  his  country.  The  nature  of  his  relationship  to 
the  king  was  also  no  longer  a  secret ;  for  they  now  understood  that  he 
was  his  father-in-law  ;  Poulaho  having  married  one  of  his  daughters,  by 
whom  he  had  a  son  ;  so  that  Mareewagee  was  the  prince's  grandfather. 
Poulaho's  appearance  having  satisfied  them  they  had  been  under  a  mis- 
take in  considering  Feenou  as  the  sovereign  of  these  islands,  they  had 
been  at  first  much  puzzled  about  his  real  rank  ;  but  that  was  by  this  time 
ascertained.  Feenou  was  one  of  Mareewagee's  sons,  and  Tooboueitoa 
was  another. 

Early  the  next  morning  the  king  came  on  board  to  invite  Cook  to  an 
entertainment,  which  he  proposed  to  give  the  same  day.  He  had  already 
been  under  the  barber's  hands  ;  his  head  being  all  besmeared  with  red 
pigment,  in  order  to  redden  his  hair,  which  was  naturally  of  a  dark  brown 
colour.  After  breakfast  he  attended  him  to  the  shore  ;  and  found  his 
people  very  busy  in  two  places  in  the  front  of  their  area,  fixing  in  an  up- 
right and  square  position,  thus  [  §g  ],  four  very  long  posts,  near  two  feet 
from  each  other.  The  space  between  the  posts  was  afterward  filled  up 
with  yams  ;  and)  as  they  went  on  filling  it,  fastened  pieces  of  sticks 
across,  from  post  to  post,  at  the  distance  of  about  every  four  feet,  to  pre- 
vent the  posts  from  separating  by  the  weight  of  the  enclosed  yams,  and 
also  to  get  up  by.  When  the  yams  had  reached  the  top  of  the  first  posts 
they  fastened  others  to  them,  and.  so  continued  till  each  pile  was  the 
height  of  thirty  feet  or  upward.  On  the  top  of  one  they  placed  two 
baked  hogs,  and  on  the  top  of  the  other  a  living  one  ;  and  another  they 
tied  by  the  legs,  half-way  up.  It  was  matter  of  curiosity  to  observe  with 
what  facility  and  despatch  these  two  piles  were  raised.  After  they  had 
completed  these  two  piles,  they  made  several  other  heaps  of  yams  and 
bread  fruit  on  each  side  of  the  area,  to  which  were  added  a  turtle  and 
a  large  quantity  of  excellent  fish.  All  this,  with  a  piece  of  cloth,  a  mat, 
and  some  red  feathers,  was  the  king's  present  to  the  captain  ;  and  he 
seemed  to  pique  himself  on  exceeding,  as  he  really  did,  Feenou's  liberality, 
which  they  experienced  at  Hapaee. 

Accompanied  by  a  few  of  the  king's  attendants,  and  Omai  as  inter- 
preter, they  walked  out  to  take  a  view  of  a  fiatooka,  or  burying-place, 
which  they  had  observed  to  be  nearly  by  the  house,  and  was  much 
more  extensive,  and  seemingly  of  more  consequence,  than  any  they  had 
seen  at  the  other  islands.  They  were  told  it  belonged  to  the  king.  It 
consists  of  three  pretty  large  houses,  situated  upon  a  rising  ground, 
or  rather  just  by  the  brink  of  it,  with  a  small  one  at  some  distance,  all 
ranged  longitudinally.  The  middle  house  of  the  first  three  was  much  the 
largest,  and  placed  in  a  square,  twenty-four  paces  by  twenty-eight,  raised 
about  three  feet.  The  other  houses  were  placed  on  little  mounts,  raised 
artificially  to  the  same  height.  The  floors  of  these  houses,  as  also  the 
tops  of  the  mounts  round  them,  were  covered  with  loose,  fine  pebbles, 
and  the  whole  was  enclosed  by  large  flat  stones  of  hard  coral  rock,  pro- 
perly hewn,  placed  on  their  edges  ;  one  of  which  stones  measured  twelve 
feet  in  length,  two  in  breadth,  and  above  one  in  thickness.  One  of  the 
bouses,  contrary  to  what  they  had  seen  before,  was  open  on  one  side ; 


276  VOYAGES  ROtTNO  THE  WORLD. 

and  within  it  were  two  rude,  wooden  busts  of  men  ;  one  near  the  entranccr, 
and  the  other  farther  in.  On  inquiring  of  the  natives  who  had  followed 
them  to  the  ground,  but  durst  not  enter,  what  these  images  were  intended 
for,  they  made  them  sensible  they  were  merely  memorials  of  some  chiefs 
who  had  been  buried  there,  and  not  the  representations  of  any  Deity. 
Such  monuments,  it  should  seem,  are  seldom  raised  ;  for  these  had  pro- 
bably been  erected  several  ages  ago.  They  were  told  the  dead  had  been 
buried  in  each  of  these  houses  ;  but  no  marks  of  this  appeared.  In  one 
of  them  was  the  carved  head  of  an  Otaheitean  canoe,  which  had  been 
driven  ashore  on  their  coast,  and  deposited  here.  At  the  foot  of  the 
rising  ground  was  a  large  area,  or  grass-plot,  with  different  trees  planted 
about  it,  among  which  were  several  of  those  called  etoa,  very  large. 
These,  as  they  resemble  the  cypress,  had  a  fine  effect  in  such  a  place. 
There  was  also  a  row  of  low  palms  near  one  of  the  houses,  and  behind 
it  a  ditch,  in  which  lay  a  great  number  of  old  baskets. 

Amsterdam,  Tongalaboo,  or  (as  the  native*  also  very  frequently  called  it) 
Tonga,  is  about  twenty  leagues  in  circuit,  somewhat  oblong,  though  by  much 
the  broadest  at  the  east  end  ;  and  its  greatest  length  is  from  east  to  west. 

The  island  may,  with  great  propriety,  be  called  a  low  one,  as  the  trees 
on  the  west  part,  where  they  now  lay  at  anchor,  only  appeared  ;  and  the 
only  eminent  part  which  can  be  seen  from  a  ship  is  the  south-east  point. 
The  general  appearance  of  the  country  does  not  afford  that  beautiful  kind 
of  landscape  that  is  produced  from  a  variety  of  hills  and  valleys,  lawns, 
rivulets,  and  cascades ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  it  conveys  an  idea  of  the 
most  exuberant  fertility,  whether  we  respect  the  places  improved  by  art, 
or  those  still  in  a  natural  state  ;  both  which  yield  all  their  vegetable  pro- 
ductions with  the  greatest  vigour  and  perpetual  verdure. 

On  the  10th,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  they  weighed  anchor, 
and  were  enabled  to  stretch  away  for  Middleburg,  or  Eooa,  (as  it  is 
called  by  the  inhabitants,)  where  they  anchored  at  eight  o'clock  the  next 
morning.  Cook  put  ashore,  at  this  island,  a  ram  and  two  ewes  of  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  breed  of  sheep,  entrusting  them  to  the  care  of 
Taoofa,  who  seemed  proud  of  his  charge.  It  was  fortunate,  perhaps, 
that  Mareewagee,  to  whom  he  had  given  them,  slighted  the  present. 
Eooa  not  having  as  yet  got  any  dogs  upon  it,  seemed  to  be  a  more  proper 
place  than  Tongataboo  for  the  rearing  of  sheep. 

As  they  lay  at  anchor,  this  island  bore  a  very  different  aspect  from  any 
they  had  lately  seen,  and  formed  a  most  beautiful  landscape.  It  is  higher 
than  any  they  had  passed  since  leaving  New  Zealand,  and  from  its  top, 
which  is  almost  fiat,  declines  very  gently  toward  the  sea.  As  the  other, 
isles  of  this  cluster  are  level,  the  eye  can  discover  nothing  but  the  trees 
that  cover  them ;  but  here  the  land,  rising  gently  upward,  presents  an 
extensive  prospect,  where  groves  of  trees  are  only  interspersed  at  irregu- 
lar distances,  in  beautiful  disorder,  and  the  rest  covered  with  grass.  Near 
the  shore,  again,  it  is  quite  shaded  with  various  trees,  among  which  are 
the  habitations  of  the  natives  ;  and  to  the  right  of  their  station  was  one 
of  the  most  extensive  groves  of  cocoa  palms  they  had  ever  seen.  On  the 
13th  a  party  made  an  excursion  to  the  highest  part  of  the  island,  which 
was  a  little  to  the  right  of  the  ships,  in  order  to  have  a  full  view  of  the 
country.  About  half-way  up,  they  crossed  a  deep  valley,  the  bottom  and 
sides  of  which,  though  composed  of  hardly  anything  but  coral  rocks,  were 
clothed  with  trees. 

Soon  after  they  weighed,  and  with  a  light  breeze  at  south-east  stood 
out  to  sea,  and  then  Taoofa,  and  a  few  other  natives  that  were  in  the  ship. 


•  JAMBS  COOK.  27? 

left  them.  According  to  the  information  they  received  here,  this  archi- 
pelago  is  very  extensive.  Above  150  islands  were  reckoned  up  to  thorn 
by  the  natives,  who  made  use  of  bits  of  leaves  to  ascertain  their  number  ; 
and  Mr.  Anderson,  with  his  usual  diligence,  even  procured  all  their  names. 
Fifteen  of  them  are  said  to  be  high  or  hilly,  such  as  Toofoa  and  Eooa ; 
and  thirty-five  of  them  large.  Of  these  only  three  were  seen  this  voyage  : 
Hapaee,  (which  is  considered  by  the  natives  as  one  island,)  Tongataboo, 
and  Eooa,  of  the  size  of  the  unexplored  thirty-two,  nothing  more  can  be 
mentioned,  but  that  they  must  be  all  larger  than  Annamooka ;  which 
those  from  whom  they  had  received  their  mformation  ranked  among  the 
smaller  isles.  Some,  or  indeed  several  of  this  latter  denomination,  are 
mere  spots,  without  inhabitants.  But  it  must  be  left  to  future  navigators 
to  introduce  into  the  geography  of  this  part  of  the  South  Pacific  Ocean 
the  exact  situation  and  size  of  near  a  hundred  more  islands  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood, which  they  had  not  an  opportunity  to  explore. 

At  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  August,  land  was  seen, 
bearing  north-north-east,  nine  or  ten  leagues  distant.  At  first  it  appeared 
in  detached  hills,  like  separate  islands  ;  but  as  they  drew  nearer,  found 
that  they  were  all  connected.  Two  canoes  having  advanced  to  about 
the  distance  of  a  pistol  shot  from  the  ship,  there  stopped.  After  making 
several  unsuccessful  attempts  to  induce  these  people  to  come  alongside, 
they  made  sail  to  the  north,  but  not  without  getting  the  name  of  their 
island,  which  they  called  Toobouai.  It  is  situated  in  the  latitude  of  23 
degrees  25  minutes  south,  and  in  210  degrees  37  minutes  east  longitude. 
Its  greatest  extent,  in  any  direction,  exclusive  of  the  reef,  is  not  above 
five  or  six  miles. 

At  daybreak,  on  the  morning  of  the  12th,  they  saw  the  Island  of 
Maitea.  Soon  after,  Otaheitc  made  its  appearance.  A  chief,  whom  they 
had  known  before,  named  Ootee,  and  Omai's  brother-in-law,  who  chanced 
to  be  now  at  this  corner  of  the  island,  and  three  or  four  more  persons, 
all  of  whom  knew  Omai  before  he  embarked  with  Captain  Furneaux, 
came  on  board.  Yet  there  was  nothing  tender  or  striking  in  their  meet- 
ing. On  the  contrary,  there  seemed  to  be  a  perfect  indifierence  on  both 
sides,  till  Omai,  having  taken  his  brother  down  into  the  cabin,  opened 
the  drawer  where  he  kept  his  red  feathers,  and  gave  him  a  few.  This 
being  presently  known  among  the  rest  of  the  natives  upon  deck,  the 
face  of  affairs  was  entirely  turned,  and  Ootee,  who  would  hardly  speak 
to  Omai  before,  now  begged  that  they  might  be  tayos,  (friends,)  and  ex- 
change names.  Omai  accepted  of  the  honour,  and  confirmed  it  with  a 
present  of  red  feathers  ;  and  Ootee,  by  way  of  return,  sent  ashore  for  a 
hog.  Soou  after  they  had  anchored,  Omai's  sister  came  on  board  to  see 
him.  They  were  happy  to  observe  that,  much  to  the  honour  of  both, 
their  meeting  was  marked  with  expressions  of  the  tenderest  affection, 
easier  to  be  conceived  than  to  be  described. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  1st  of  September,  a  messenger  arrived 
from  Towha,  to  acquaint  Otoo  that  he  had  killed  a  man  to  be  sacrificed 
to  the  Eatooa,  to  implore  the  assistance  of  the  god  against  Eimeo,  which 
had  revolted  from  the  authority  of  Otaheite.  This  act  of  worship  was 
to  be  performed  at  the  great  Morai  at  Attahooroo  ;  and  Otoo's  presence, 
it  seems,  was  absolutely  necessary  on  that  solemn  occasion.  That  the 
offering  of  human  sacrifices  is  part  of  the  religious  institutions  of  this 
island,  has  been  mentioned  by  M.  de  Bougainville,  on  the  authority  of 
the  native  whom  he  carried  with  him  to  France. 

The  unhappy  victim  offered  to  the  object  of  their  worship  upon  thi» 
24 


378    *  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD.  • 

occasion  seemed  to  be  a  middle-aged  man  ;  and,  as  they  were  told,  W«i 
a  toutou,  that  is,  one  of  the  lowest  class  of  the  people.  Those  who  are 
devoted  to  suffer,  in  order  to  perform  this  bloody  act  of  worship,  are  never 
apprised  of  their  fate,  till  the  blow  is  given  that  puts  an  end  to  their  ex- 
istence. Whenever  any  one  of  the  great  chiefs  thinks  a  human  sacrifice 
necessary,  on  any  particular  emergency,  he  pitches  upon  the  victim.  Some 
of  his  trusty  servants  are  then  sent,  who  fall  upon  him  suddenly,  and 
put  him  to  death  with  a  club,  or  by  stoning  him.  The  king  is  next 
acquainted  with  it,  whose  presence  at  the  solemn  rites  that  follow  is 
absolutely  necessary. 

At  daybreak,  in  the  morning  of  the  SOth,  after  leaving  Otaheite,  they 
stood  for  the  north  end  of  Eimeo  ;  the  harbour  which  they  wished  to  ex- 
amine being  at  that  part  of  it.  Omai,  in  his  canoe,  having  arrived  there 
long  before  them,  had  taken  some  necessary  measures  to  show  the  place. 
This  harbour,  which  is  called  Taloo,  is  situated  upon  the  north  side  of 
the  island,  in  the  district  of  Oboonohoo,  or  Poonohoo.  It  rans  in  south, 
or  south  by  east,  between  the  hills,  above  two  miles.  For  security  and 
goodness  of  its  bottom,  it  is  not  inferior  to  any  harbour  at  any  of  the  islands 
in  this  ocean. 

On  the  2d  Maheine,  the  chief  of  the  island,  paid  them  a  visit.  He  ap- 
proached the  ship  with  great  caution,  and  it  required  some  persuasion  to 
get  him  on  board.  Probably  he  was  under  some  apprehensions  of  mis- 
chief from  them,  as  friends  of  the  Otaheiteans  ;  these  people  not  being 
able  to  comprehend  how  they  can  be  friends  with  any  one,  without  adopt- 
ing, at  the  same  time,  his  cause  against  his  enemies.  Maheine  was 
accompanied  by  his  wife,  who  is  sister  to  Oamo,  of  Otaheite.  This  chief, 
who,  with  a  few  followers,  has  made  himself  in  a  manner  independent  of 
Otaheite,  is  between  forty  and  fifty  years  old.  He  is  bald-headed,  which 
is  rather  an  uncommon  appearance  in  these  islands  at  that  age.  He 
wore  a  kind  of  turban,  and  seemed  ashamed  to  show  his  head. 

Having  left  Eimeo  with  a  gentle  breeze  and  fine  weather,  at  daybreak 
the  next  morning  saw  Huaheine.  At  noon  they  anchored  at  the  north 
entrance  of  Owharre  harbour,  on  the  west  side  of  the  island.  Their  ar- 
rival brought  all  the  principal  people  of  the  island  to  the  ships  the  next 
morning,  being  the  13ih.  This  was  just  what  they  wished,  as  it  was  high 
time  to  think  of  settling  Omai ;  and  the  presence  of  these  chiefs  would 
enable  Cook  to  do  it  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner.  One  of  them  im- 
mediately expressed  himself  to  this  eflFect :  *'  that  the  whole  island  of 
Huaheine,  and  everything  in  it,  were  the  captain's  ;  and  that,  therefore, 
he  might  give  what  portion  of  it  he  pleased  to  his  friend."  Omai,  who, 
like  the  rest  of  his  countrymen,  seldom  sees  things  beyond  the  present 
moment,  was  greatly  pleased  to  hear  this,  thinking,  no  doubt,  that  he 
should  be  very  liberal,  and  give  him  enough.  Upon  this,  some  chiefs, 
who  had  left  the  assembly,  were  sent  for  ;  and,  after  a  short  consultation 
among  themselves,  the  request  was  granted  by  general  consent,  and  the 
ground  immediately  pitched  upon,  adjoining  to  the  house  where  the  meet- 
ing was  held.  The  extent  along  the  shore  of  the  harbour  was  about  two 
hundred  yards  ;  and  its  depth,  to  the  foot  of  the  hill,  somewhat  more  ;  but 
a  proportional  part  of  the  hill  was  included  in  the  grant. 

Omai  now  began  seriously  to  attend  to  his  own  aflfairs,  and  repented 
heartily  of  his  ill-judged  prodigality  while  at  Otaheite.  He  found  at  Hua- 
heine a  brother,  a  sister,  and  a  brother-in-law — the  sister  being  married. 
But  these  did  not  plunder  him,  as  he  had  lately  been  by  his  other  relations. 
vAs  soon  as  Omai  was  settled  in  his  new  habitation,  Cook  began  to  think 


lAMES  COOK.  279 

of  leaving  the  island  ;  and  got  everything  oif  from  the  shore  this  evening, 
except  the  horse  and  mare,  and  a  goat  big  with  kid,  which  were  left  in  the 
possession  of  his  friend,  with  whom  they  were  now  finally  to  part.  He 
also  gave  him  a  boar  and  two  sows  of  the  English  breed  ;  and  he  had  got 
a  sow  or  two  of  his  own.  The  horse  covered  the  mare  while  at  Otaheite  ; 
so  that  the  introduction  of  a  breed  of  horses  into  these  islands  is  likely 
to  have  succeeded  by  this  valuable  present. 

He  had  picked  up  at  Otaheite  four  or  five  toutous ;  the  two  New 
Zealand  youths  remained  with  him  ;  and  his  brother,  and  some  others, 
joined  him  at  Huaheine  ;  so  that  his  family  consisted  already  of  eight  or 
ten  persons,  if  that  can  be  called  a  family  to  which  not  a  single  female 
as  yet  belonged,  nor  was  Ukely  to  belong,  unless  its  master  became  less 
volatile.  At  present,  Omai  did  not  seem  at  all  disposed  to  take  unto 
himself  a  wife.  The  house  which  they  erected  for  him  was  twenty-four 
feet  by  eighteen,  and  ten  feet  high.  His  European  weapons  consisted  of 
a  musket,  bayonet,  and  cartouch-box,  a  fowling-piece,  two  pair  of  pistols, 
and  two  or  three  swords  or  cutlasses. 

On  the  2d  of  November,  at  four  in  the  afternoon,  they  took  the  advan- 
tage of  a  breeze  which  then  sprung  up  at  east,  and  sailed  out  of  the  har- 
bour. Omai  went  ashore,  after  taking  a  very  aflfectionate  farewell  of  all 
the  officers.  He  sustained  himself  with  a  manly  resolution  till  he  came 
to  the  captain  ;  then  his  utmost  efforts  to  conceal  his  tears  failed  ;  and 
Mr.  King,  who  went  in  the  boat,  said  that  he  wept  all  the  time  in  going 
ashore.  The  boat  which  carried  Omai  having  returned  to  the  ship,  they 
stood  over  for  Ulietea,  where  they  intended  to  touch  next. 

In  the  morning  of  the  7th  of  December,  took  the  advantage  of  a  light 
breeze  ;  and,  with  the  assistance  of  all  the  boats,  got  out  to  sea,  with  the 
Discovery  in  company.  As  soon  as  they  were  clear  of  the  harbour,  they 
steered  for  Bolabola.  Oreo,  and  six  or  eight  men  more  from  Ulietea,  took 
a  passage  with  them.  Indeed  most  of  the  natives  in  general,  except  the 
chief  himself,  would  have  gladly  taken  a  passage  to  England.  At  sunset, 
being  the  length  of  the  south  point  of  Bolabola,  they  shortened  sail,  and 
spent  the  night,  making  short  boards.  At  daybreak,  on  the  8th,  made  sail 
for  the  harbour,  which  is  on  the  west  side  of  the  island. 

After  leaving  Bolabola,  they  steered  to  the  northward.  On  the  24th, 
after  daybreak,  land  was  discovered.  Upon  a  nearer  approach,  it  was 
found  to  be  one  of  those  low  islands  so  common  in  this  ocean  ;  that  is,  a 
narrow  bank  of  land  enclosing  the  sea  within.  A  few  cocoa  nut  trees 
were  seen  in  two  or  three  places  ;  but,  in  general,  the  land  had  a  very 
barren  appearance.  As  they  kept  their  Christmas  here,  it  was  called 
Christmas  Island.  They  judged  it  to  be  about  fifteen  or  twenty  leagues  in 
circumference. 

On  the  2d  of  January  resumed  their  course  to  the  north.  At  daybreak 
in  the  morning  of  the  18ih,  an  island  made  its  appearance,  bearing  north- 
east by  east  ;  and  soon  after  saw  more  land  bearing  north,  and  entirely 
detached  from  the  former.  Latitude  at  this  time,  21  degrees  12  minutes 
north,  and  longitude  200  degrees  41  minutes  east.  At  this  time  they 
were  in  some  doubt  whether  the  land  was  inhabited  ;  but  this  doubt  was 
soon  cleared  up,  by  seeing  some  canoes  coming  off  from  the  shore  toward 
the  ships.  They  had  from  three  to  six  men  each  ;  and,  on  their  approach, 
they  were  agreeably  surprised  to  find  that  they  spoke  the  language  of 
Otaheite  and  of  the  other  islands  lately  visited.  Cook,  in  the  course  of 
his  voyages,  never  before  met  with  the  natives  of  any  place  so  much  asto- 
nished as  these  were  upon  entering  a  ship.     Their  eyes  were  continually 


2S0  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

flying  from  object  to  object ;  tbe  wildness  of  their  looks  and  gestures  fully 
expressing  their  entire  ignorance  about  everything  they  saw,  strongly  mark- 
ing that,  till  now,  they  had  never  been  visited  by  Europeans. 

The  ships  being  stationed,  Cook  went  ashore,  with  three  armed  boats 
and  twelve  marines,  to  examine  the  water  and  to  try  the  disposition  of 
the  inhabitants.  The  very  instant  he  leaped  on  land,  the  collected  body 
of  natives  all  fell  flat  upon  their  faces,  and  remained  in  that  very  humble 
posture  till,  by  expressive  signs,  he  prevailed  upon  them  to  rise.  They 
then  brought  a  great  many  small  pigs,  which  they  presented  to  him,  with 
plantain  trees,  using  much  the  same  ceremonies  practised  on  such  occa- 
sions at  the  Society  and  other  islands.  A  trade  was  set  on  foot  for  hogs 
and  potatoes,  which  the  people  gave  in  exchange  for  nails  and  pieces  of 
iron  formed  into  something  like  chisels.  They  met  with  no  obstruction  in 
watering  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  natives  assisted  the  men  in  rolling  the  casks 
to  and  from  the  pool,  and  readily  performed  whatever  they  required. 

At  daybreak,  on  the  24th,  they  found  that  the  currents  had  earned  the 
ship  to  the  north-west  and  north  ;  so  that  the  west  end  of  the  island, 
upon  which  they  had  been,  called  Atooi  by  the  natives,  bore  east,  one 
league  distant ;  another  island,  called  Oreehoua,  west  by  south  ;  and  the 
high  land  of  a  third  island,  called  Oneeheow,  from  south-west  by  west  to 
west-south-west. 

Of  what  number  this  newly-discovered  archipelago  consists  must  be 
left  for  future  investigation.  They  saw  five,  whose  names,  as  given  by 
the  natives,  are  Woahoo,  Atooi,  Oneeheow,  Oreehoua,  and  Tahoora. 
They  named  the  whole  group  the  Sandwich  Islands,  in  honour  of  the 
Earl  of  Sandwich.  Those  they  saw  are  situated  between  the  latitude 
of  21  degrees  30  minutes  and  22  degrees  15  minutes  north,  and  between 
the  longitude  of  199  degrees  20  minutes  and  201  degrees  30  minutes  east. 

The  inhabitants  are  of  a  middling  stature,  firmly  made,  with  some  ex- 
ceptions, neither  remarkable  for  a  beautiful  shape,  nor  for  striking  features, 
which  rather  express  an  openness  and  good-nature,  than  a  keen  intelligent 
disposition.  They  are  vigorous,  active,  and  most  expert  swimmers ;  leaving 
their  canoes  upon  the  most  trifling  occasion,  diving  under  them,  and  swim- 
ming to  others,  though  at  a  great  distance.  It  was  very  common  to  see 
women  with  infants  at  the  breast,  when  the  surf  was  so  high  that  they  could 
not  land  in  the  canoes,  leap  overboard,  and,  without  endangering  their 
little  ones,  swim  to  the  shore  through  a  sea  that  looked  dreadful. 

After  the  Discovery  had  joined,  they  stood  away  to  the  northward. 
On  the  6th  of  March,  being  in  the  latitude  of  44  degrees  10  minutes  north, 
and  the  longitude  of  234^  degrees  cast,  at  daybreak  the  next  morning 
the  long  looked-for  coast  of  New  Albion  was  seen,  distant  ten  or  twelve 
leagues.  In  the  morning  of  the  20th,  standing  to  the  north-ca'st,  they 
again  saw  the  land.  Between  two  points  the  shore  forms  a  large  bay, 
which  they  called  Hope  Bay  ;  hoping,  from  the  appearance  of  the  land,  to 
find  in  it  a  good  harbour.  The  event  proved  they  were  not  mistaken. 
Three  canoes  came  off  to  the  ship  ;  in  one  of  these  were  two  men,  in 
another  six,  and  in  the  third  ten.  Having  come  pretty  near,  a  person  in 
one  of  the  last  two  stood  up,  and  made  a  long  harangue,  inviting  them 
to  land  by  his  gestures.  At  the  same  time  he  kept  strewing  handsful  of 
feathers  toward  them,  and  some  of  his  companions  threw  handsful  of  a 
red  dust  or  powder  in  the  same  manner.  The  person  who  played  the 
orator  wore  the  skin  of  some  animal,  and  held  in  each  hand  something 
which  rattled  as  he  kept  shaking  it. 

A  great  many  canoes,  filled  with  the  natives,  were  about  the  ships,  and 


JAMES  COOK.  281 

8  trade  commenced,  which  was  carried  on  with  the  strictest  honesty  on 
both  sides.  The  articles  they  offered  for  sale  were  skins  of  various  animals, 
such  as  bears,  wolves,  foxes,  deer,  racoons,  pole-cats,  martins,  and  in 
particular  of  the  sea-otters,  which  are  found  at  the  islands  east  of  Kam- 
tschalka.  Besides  the  skins  in  their  native  shape,  they  also  brought  gar- 
ments made  of  them,  and  another  sort  of  cloihing  made  of  the  bark  of  a 
tree,  or  some  plant  like  hemp  ;  weapons,  such  as  bows,  arrows,  and  spears,' 
fish-hooks,  and  instruments  of  various  kinds,  wooden  vizors  of  many  dif- 
ferent monstrous  figures,  a  sort  of  woollen  stutf,  or  blanketing,  bags  filled 
with  red  ochre,  pieces  of  carved  work,  beads,  and  several  other  little  or- 
naments of  thin  brass  and  iron,  shaped  like  a  horse-shoe,  which  they  hang 
at  their  noses,  and  several  chisels,  or  pieces  of  iron,  fixed  to  handles. 
From  their  possessing  which  metals,  they  had  either  been  visited  before 
by  some  civilized  nation,  or  had  connexions  with  tribes  on  their  continent, 
who  had  communication  with  them.  But  the  most  extraordinary  of  all 
the  articles  brought  to  the  ships  for  sale,  were  human  skulls  and  hands 
not  yet  quite  stripped  of  the  flesh,  which  they  made  their  people  plainly 
understand  they  had  eaten  ;  and,  indeed,  some  of  them  had  evident  marks 
they  had  been  upon  the  fire.  They  had  but  too  much  reason  to  suspect, 
from  this  circumstance,  that  the  horrid  practice  of  feeding  on  their  ene- 
mies is  as  prevalent  here  as  at  New  Zealand  and  other  South  Sea  Islands. 
For  the  various  articles  which  they  brought,  they  took  in  exchange  knives, 
chisels,  pieces  of  iron  and  tin,  nails,  looking-glasses,  buttons,  or  any  kind 
of  metal.  Glass  beads  they  were  not  fond  of,  and  cloth  of  every  sort  they 
rejected. 

On  their  arrival  in  this  inlet,  Cook  had  honoured  it  with  the  name  of 
King  George's  Sound  ;  but  afterward  found  that  it  is  called  Nootka  by 
the  natives.  The  entrance  is  situated  in  the  east  corner  of  Hope  Bay, 
in  the  latitude  of  49  degrees  33  minutes  north,  and  in  the  longitude  of 
233  degrees  12  minutes  east. 

Having  put  to  sea  on  the  evening  of  the  26th,  with  strong  signs  of  an 
approaching  storm,  these  signs  did  not  deceive  them.  Fortunately  the  wind 
veered  no  farther  southerly  than  south-east ;  so  that,  at  daylight  the  next 
morning,  they  were  quite  clear  of  the  coast.  In  latitude  68  degrees  53 
minutes,  and  longitude  220  degrees  52  minutes,  the  summit  of  an  elevated 
mountain  appeared  above  the  horizon,  bearing  north  26  degrees  west,  and, 
as  was  afterward  found,  forty  leagues  distant.  They  supposed  it  to  be 
Beering's  Mount  St.  Elias  ;  and  it  stands  by  that  name  in  their  chart. 

To  an  inlet,  which  they  now  entered,  Cook  gave  the  name  of  Prince 
"William's  Sound.  To  judge  of  this  sound  from  what  they  saw  of  it,  it 
occupies  at  least  a  degree  and  a  half  of  latitude,  and  two  of  longitude, 
exclusive  of  the  arms  or  branches,  the  extent  of  which  is  not  known.  The 
natives,  who  came  on  several  visits,  were  generally  not  above  the  common 
height,  though  many  of  them  were  under  it.  They  were  square,  or  strong- 
chested  ;  and  the  most  disproportioned  part  of  their  body  seemed  to  be 
their  heads,  which  were  very  large,  with  thick  short  necks  ;  and  large 
broad  or  spreading  faces,  which,  upon  the  whole,  were  flat.  Their  eyes, 
though  not  small,  scarcely  bore  a  proportion  to  the  size  of  their  faces ; 
and  their  noses  had  full,  round  pomts,  hooked  or  turned  up  at  the  tip. 
Their  teeth  were  broad,  white,  equal  in  size,  and  unevenly  set.  Their 
hair  was  black,  thick,  straight,  and  strong,  and  their  beards,  in  gene:>al, 
thin  or  wanting  ;  but  the  hairs  about  the  lips  of  those  who  have  them  were 
stiff  or  bristly,  and  frequently  of  a  brown  colour.  And  several  of  tho 
elderly  men  had  even  large  and  thick,  but  straight,  beards. 

24* 


282  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

After  leaving  this  sound,  they  steered  ta  the  south-west,  with  a  gentle 
breeze  at  north-north-east.  From  Cape  Bede  the  coast  trended  north- 
east by  east,  with  a  chain  of  mountains  inland,  extending  in  the  same 
direction.  The  land  on  th€  coast  was  woody,  and  tiiere  seemed  to  be  no 
deficiency  of  harbours.  They  discovered  low  land  in  the  middle  of  an 
inlet,  extending  from  north-north-east  to  north-east  by  east  half  east. 
As  it  continued  calm  all  day,  they  did  not  move  till  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  when,  with  a  light  breeze  at  east,  they  weighed  and  stood  to  the 
north,  Xip  the  inlet.  Until  they  got  thus  far,  the  water  had  retained  the 
same  degree  of  saltness  at  low  as  at  high  water,  and  at  both  periods 
was  as  salt  as  that  in  the  ocean.  But  now  the  marks  of  a  river  displayed 
themselves.  The  water  taken  up  this  ebb,  when  at  the  lowest,  was  found 
to  be  considerably  fresher  than  any  hitherto  tasted  :  insomuch  that  Cook 
was  convinced  they  were  in  a  large  river,  and  not  in  a  strait,  communicating 
with  the  northern  seas.  By  means  of  this  river  and  its  several  branches 
a  very  extensive  inland  communication  lies  open.  They  traced  it  as  high 
as  the  latitude  of  61  degrees  30  minutes,  and  the  longitude  of  210  degrees, 
which  is  seventy  leagues  or  more  from  its  entrance,  without  seeing  the 
least  appearance  of  its  source.  If  the  discovery  of  this  great  river,  which 
promises  to  vie  with  the  most  considerable  ones  already  known  to  be  capable 
of  extensive  inland  navigation,  should  prove  of  use  either  to  the  presenter 
to  any  future  age,  the  time  spent  in  it  ought  to  be  the  less  regretted. 
Captain  Cook  having  here  left  a  blank,  which  he  bad  not  filled  up  with 
any  particular  name.  Lord  Sandwich  directed,  with  the  greatest  propriety, 
that  it  should  be  called  Cook's  River. 

As  soon  as  the  ebb  tide  made  they  weighed,  and,  with  a  light  breeze, 
plied  down  the  river.  At  eight  in  the  evening  the  Island  of  St.  Hermo- 
genes  extended  from  south  half  east  to  south-south-east  a  quarter  east. 
On  the  17th  the  wind  was  between  west  and  north-west,  a  gentle  breeze, 
and  sometimes  almost  calm.  The  weather  was  clear,  and  the  air  sharp 
and  dry.  At  noon  the  continent  extended  from  south-west  to  north  by 
east,  ihe  nearest  part  seven  leagues  distant.  A  large  group  of  islands, 
lying  about  the  same  distance  from  the  continent,  extended  from  south 
26  degrees  west,  to  south  52  degrees  west.  They  had  now  land  in  every 
direction.  That  to  the  south  extended  to  the  south-west,  in  a  ridge  of 
mountains  ;  but  their  sight  could  not  determine  whether  it  composed  one 
or  more  islands.  They  afterward  found  it  to  be  only  one  island,  and 
known  by  the  name  of  Oonalaska. 

Mr.  Anderson,  the  surgeon,  who  had  been  lingering  under  a  consump- 
tion for  more  than  twelve  months,  expired,  2d  of  August.  He  was  a 
sensible  young  man,  an  agreeable  companion,  well  skilled  in  his  own  pro- 
fession, and  had  acquired  considerable  knowledge  in  other  branches  of 
science.  Soon  after  he  had  breathed  his  last,  land  was  seen  to  the  west- 
ward, twelve  leagues  distant.  It  was  supposed  to  be  an  island  ;  and,  to 
perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  deceased,  for  whom  Cook  had  a  very  great 
regard,  he  named  it  Anderson's  Island. 

The  point  of  land  which  Cook  named  Cape  Prince  of  Wales  is  the  more 
remarkable,  by  being  the  most  western  extremity  of  all  America  hitherto 
known.  It  is  situated  in  the  latitude  of  65  degrees  46  minutes,  and  in  the 
longitude  of  168  degrees  5  minutes  west.  At  daybreak,  on  the  10th,  re- 
sumed their  course  to  the  west  for  the  land  seen  the  preceding  evening. 
Between  the  south-wes*^^  extreme  and  a  point  which  bore  west,  two  leagues 
distant,  the  shore  forms  a  large  bay,  in  which  they  anchored  at  ten  o'clock 
in  the  forenoon.     At  first  they  supposed  this  land  to  be  a  part  of  the  island 


JAMES  COOK.  283 

of  Alaschka.  But  from  the  figure  of  the  coast,  the  situation  of  the  oppo- 
site shore  of  America,  and  from  the  longitude,  they  soon  began  to  think 
that  it  was,  more  probably,  the  country  of  the  Tsehutski,  or  the  eastern 
extremity  of  Asia,  explored  by  Beering,  in  1723:  A  breeze  of  wind 
springirig  up  at  north,  they  weighed,  and  stood  to  the  westward,  which 
course  soon  brought  them  into  deep  water  ;  and,  during  the  12th,  plied 
to  the  north,  both  coasts  being  in  sight,  but  they  kept  nearest  to  that  of 
America. 

Next  morning  the  wind  blew  a  strong  gale,  which  abated  at  noon  :  and 
the  sun  shining  out,  they  were,  by  observation,  in  the  latitude  of  68  de- 
grees 18  minutes.  Some  time  before  noon  next  day  perceived  a  bright- 
ness in  the  northern  horizon,  like  that  reflected  from  ice,  commonly  called 
the  blink.  It  was  little  noticed,  from  a  supposition  that  it  was  improbable 
they  should  meet  with  ice  so  soon.  About  an  hour  after,  the  sight  of  a 
large  field  of  ice  left  them  no  longer  in  doubt.  At  half-past  two  tacked 
close  to  the  edge  of  the  ice,  in  twenty-two  fathoms  water,  being  then  in 
the  latitude  of  70  degrees  41  minutes,  not  being  able  to  stand  on  any  further. 
They  now  stood  to  the  southward  ;  at  this  time  the  weather,  which  had 
been  hazy,  clearing  up  a  little,  they  saw  land  extending  from  south  to  south- 
east by  east,  about  three  or  four  miles  distant.  The  eastern  extreme 
forms  a  point,  which  was  much  encumbered  with  ice  ;  for  which  reason 
it  obtained  the  name  of  Icy  Cape,  Its  latitude  is  70  degrees  29  minutes, 
and  its  longitude  163  degrees  20  minutes. 

Having  now  fully  satisfied  himself,  Cook  thought  it  high  time  to  think 
of  leaving  these  northern  regions,  and  to  retire  to  some  place  during  the 
winter  where  he  might  procure  refreshments  for  his  people,  and  a  small 
supply  of  provisions.  Petropaulowska,  or  the  harbour  of  St.  Peter  and 
St.  Paul,  in  Kamtschalka,  did  not  appear  likely  to  furnish  either  the  one 
or  the  other,  for  so  large  a  number  of  men.  No  place  was  so  conveniently 
within  reach  as  the  Sandwich  Islands.  To  them,  therefore,  they  de- 
termined to  proceed. 

On  the  2d  of  October,  at  daybreak,  saw  the  -Island  of  Oonalaska, 
bearing  so«th-east.  At  one  o'clock,  in  the  afternoon  of  the  3d,  they 
anchored  in  Samganoodha  Harbour.  They  got  plenty  of  fish,  at  first  mostly 
salmon,  both  fresh  and  dried,  which  the  natives  brought.  Some  of  the 
fresh  salmon  was  in  high  perfection,  but  there  was  one  sort,  called  hook- 
nosed, from  the  figure  of  its  head,  that  was  but  indifferent.  They  drew 
the  seine  several  times  at  the  head  of  the  bay,  and  caught  a  good  many 
salmon-trout,  and  once  a  halibut  that  weighed  two  hundred  and  fifty-foui 
pounds.  The  fishery  failing,  they  had  recourse  to  hooks  and  lines.  A 
boat  was  sent  out  every  morning,  and  seldom  returned  without  eight  or  ten 
halibut,  which  was  more  than  sufficient  to  serve  all  the  people.  The  halibut 
were  excellent,  and  there  were  few  who  did  not  prefer  them  to  salmon. 

In  the  morning  of  the  26th  of  October,  th'ey  put  to  sea  from  Samga- 
noodha harbour  ;  and  as  the  wind  was  southerly,  stood  away  to  the  west- 
ward. They  continued  to  steer  to  the  southward  till  daylight  in  the 
morning  of  the  25th  of  November,  at  which  time  they  were  in  the  latitude 
of  20  degrees  55  minutes.  At  daybreak,  next  morning,  land  was  seen 
extending  from  south-south-east  to  west.  It  was  supposed  that  they  savr 
the  extent  of  the  land  to  the  east,  but  not  to  the  west.  They  were  now 
satisfied  that  the  group  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  had  been  only  imperfectly 
discovered  ;  as  those  of  them  visited  in  their  progress  northward  all  lie 
to  the  leeward  of  their  present  station.  Seeing  some  canoes  coming  ofl, 
they  brought-to.     As  soon  as  they  got  alongside,  many  of  the  people,  who 


284  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

conducted  them  came  into  the  ship,  without  the  least  hesitation.  They 
found  them  to  be  of  the  same  nation  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  islands 
morft  to  leeward,  already  visited  ;  and  they  knew  of  their  having  been 
there.  In  the  evening  they  discovered  another  island  to  windward, 
which  the  natives  call  Owyhee.  The  name  of  that  off  which  they  had 
been  for  some  days  is  Mowee.  At  seven  in  the  evening  were  close  up 
with  the  north  side  of  Owyhee.  In  the  morning  of  the  2d,  they  were 
surprised  to  see  the  summits  of  the  mountains  covered  with  snow.  They 
did  not  appear  to  be  of  any  extraordinary  height ;  and  yet,  in  some  places, 
the  snow  seemed  to  be  of  a  considerable  depth,  and  to  have  lain  there 
some  time. 

At  daybreak,  on  the  16th,  seeing  the  appearance  of  a  bay,  Cook  sent 
Mr.  Bligh,  with  a  boat  from  each  ship,  to  examine  it,  being  at  this  time 
three  leagues  off.  At  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  they  anchored  in 
the  bay  called  by  the  natives  Karakakooa.  The  ships  continued  to  be 
much  crowded  with  natives,  and  were  surrounded  by  a  multitude  of  canoes. 
They  had  nowhere,  in  the  course  of  their  voyages,  seen  so  numerous  a 
body  of  people  assembled  at  one  place.  For,  besides  those  who  had  come 
off  in  canoes,  all  the  shore  of  the  bay  was  covered  with  spectators,  and 
many  hundreds  were  swimming  round  the  ships  like  shoals  of  fish.  They 
could  not  but  be  struck  with  the  singularity  of  this  scene  ;  and  perhaps 
there  were  few  on  board  who  now  lamented  their  having  failed  to  find  a 
northern  passage  homeward  last  summer.  To  this  disappointment  they 
owed  having  it  in  tlieir  power  to  revisit  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  to 
enrich  the  voyage  with  a  discovery  which,  though  the  last,  seemed  in  many 
respects  to  be  the  most  important  that  had  hitherto  been  made  by  Euro- 
peans, throughout  the  extent  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Karakakooa  Bay  is  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  Island  of  Owyhee, 
in  a  district  called  Akona.  It  is  about  a  mile  in  depth,  and  bounded  by 
two  low  points  of  land,  at  the  distance  of  half  a  league.  On  the  north 
point,  which  is  flat  and  barren,  stands  the  village  of  Kowrowa  ;  and  at  the 
bottom  of  the  bay,  near  a  grove  of  tall  cocoa  nut  trees,  there  is  another 
village  of  a  more  considerable  size,  called  Kakooa  ;  beSweeiT  them  runs 
a  high  rocky  cliff,  inaccessible  from  the  sea-shore. 

As  soon  as  the  inhabitants  perceived  their  intention  of  anchoring  in  the 
bay,  they  came  off  from  the  shore  in  astonishing  numbers,  and  expressed 
their  joy  by  singing  and  shouting,  and  exhibiting  a  variety  of  wild  and  ex- 
travagant gestures.  The  sides,  the  decks,  and  rigging  of  both  ships,  were 
soon  completely  covered  with  them  ;  and  a  multitude  of  women  and 
boys,  who  had  not  been  able  to  get  canoes,  came  swimming  round  in 
shoals,  many  of  whom,  not  finding  room  on  board,  remainetl  the  whole 
day  playing  in  the  water.  Among  the  chiefs  who  came  on  board  the 
Resolution,  was  a  young  man,  called  Pareea,  whom  they  soon  perceived 
to  be  a  person  of  great  authority.  On  presenting  himself  to  Captain  Cook, 
he  told  him,  that  he  was  Jakanee  to  the  king  of  the  island,  who  was  at 
that  time  engaged  on  a  military  expedition  at  Mowee,  and  was  expected 
to  return  within  three  or  four  days.  A  few  presents  from  Captain  Cook 
attached  him  entirely  to  their  interests,  and  he  became  exceedingly  use- 
ful in  the  management  of  his  countrymen.  Kaneena,  another  of  their 
chiefs,  likewise  attached  himself  to  Captain  Cook.  Both  these  were  men 
of  strong  and  well  proportioned  bodies,  and  of  countenances  remarkably 
pleasing.  Their  two  friends,  Pareea  and  Kaneena,  brought  on  board  a 
third  chief,  named  Koah,  who  was  a  priest,  and  had  been,  in  his  youth, 
a  distinguished  warrior.     He  was  a  little  old  man,  of  an  emaciated  figure  j 


JAMES  COOK,  285 

his  eyes  exceedingly  sore  and  red,  and  his  body  covered  with  a  white  leprous 
scurf,  the  effects  of  an  immoderate  use  of  the  ava.  Being  led  into  the  cabin, 
he  approached  Captain  Cook  with  great  veneration,  and  threw  over  his 
shoulders  a  piece  of  red  cloth,  which  he  had  brought  along  with  lum. 

During  the  rest  of  the  time  they  remained  in  the  bay,  whenever  Captain 
Cook  came  on  shore,  he  was  attended  by  one  of  the  priests,  who  went 
before  him,  giving  notice  that  the  Orono  had  landed,  and  ordering  the 
people  to  prostrate  themselves.  The  same  person  also  constantly  accom- 
panied him  on  the  water,  standing  in  the  bow  of  the  boat,  with  a  wand  in 
his  hand,  and  g  ving  notice  of  his  approach  to  the  natives,  who  were  in 
canoes,  on  which  they  immediately  left  offpaddling  and  lay  down  on  theii 
faces  till  he  had  passed.  Whenever  he  stopped  at  the  observatory,  Kai- 
reekeea  and  his  brethren  immediately  made  their  appearance  with  hogs, 
cocoa  nuts,  bread  fruit,  &c.,  and  presented  them  with  the  usual  solemni- 
ties. It  was  on  these  occasions  that  some  of  the  infeiior  chiefs  frequently 
requested  to  be  permitted  to  make  an  offering  to  the  Orono.  When  this 
was  granted,  they  presented  the  hog  themselves,  generally  with  evident 
marks  of  fear  in  their  countenances  ;  while  Kaireekeea  and  the  priests 
chanted  their  accustomed  hymns.  The  25th  the  king,  in  a  large  canoe, 
attended  by  two  others,  set  out  from  the  village,  and  paddled  toward  tho 
ships  in  great  stale.  Their  appearance  was  grand  and  magnificent.  In 
the  first  canoe  was  Terrcooboo  and  his  chiefs,  dressed  in  their  rich  fea- 
thered cloaks  and  helmets,  and  armed  with  long  spears  and  daggers  :  in 
the  second  came  the  venerable  Kaoo,  the  chief  of  the  priests,  and  his 
brethern,  with  their  idols  displayed  on  red  cloth.  These  idols  were  busts 
of  a  gigantic  size,  made  of  wicker-work,  and  curiously  covered  with  small 
feathers  of  various  colours,  wrought  in  the  same  manner  with  their  cloaks. 
Their  eyes  were  made  of  large  pearl  oysters,  with  a  black  nut  fixed  in  the 
centre  ;  their  mouths  were  set  with  a  double  row  of  the  fangs  of  dogs, 
and,  together  with  the  rest  of  their  features,  were  strangely  distorted. 
The  third  canoe  was  filled  with  hogs  and  various  sorts  of  vegetables. 
As  they  went  along,  the  priests  in  the  centre  canoe  sung  their  hymns 
with  great  solemnity  ;  and,  after  paddling  round  tho  ships,  instead  of 
going  on  board,  as  was  expected,  they  made  toward  the  shore  at  the  beach 
where  the  English  were  stationed. 

Early  on  the  4th  of  February  they  unmoored,  and  sailed  out  of  the  bay, 
with  the  Discovery  in  company,  and  were  followed  by  a  great  number  of 
canoes.  On  the  8th,  at  daybreak,  found  that  the  foremast  had  again 
given  away  ;  the  fishes  which  were  put  on  the  head,  in  King  George's 
or  Nootka  Sound,  on  the  coast  of  America,  being  sprung,  and  the  parts 
so  very  defective,  as  to  make  it  absolutely  necessary  to  replace  them,  and, 
of  course,  to  unstep  the  mast.  Stood  off  and  on  till  daylight  of  ttie  13th, 
and  dropped  anchor  nearly  in  the  same  place  as  Kefore. 

Upon  coming  to  anchor,  they  were  surprised  to  find  their  reception  very 
different  from  what  it  had  been  on  their  first  arrival ;  no  shouts,  no  bustle, 
no  confusion  ;  but  a  solitary  bay,  with  only  here  and  there  a  canoe  steal- 
ing close  along  the  shore.  The  Discovery's  cutter  was  stolen,  during 
the  night,  from  the  buoy  where  it  was  moored.  It  had  been  Cook's  usual 
practice,  whenever  anything  of  consequence  was  lost  at  any  of  the  islands 
in  this  ocean,  to  get  the  king,  or  some  of  the  principal  earees,  on  board, 
and  to  keep  them  as  hostages  till  it  was  restored.  He  immediately 
marched  into  the  village,  where  he  was  received  with  the  usual  marks  of 
respect.  They  found  the  old  king  just  awoke  from  sleep  :  and,  after  a 
ehort  conversation  about  the  loss  of  the  cutter,  from  which  Captain  Cook 


286  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

was  convinced  that  he  was  in  nowise  privy  to  it,  he  invited  him  to  return 
in  the  boat,  and  spend  the  day  on  board  the  Resolution.  To  this  propo- 
sal the  king  readily  consented,  and  immediately  got  up  to  accompany 
him.  The  two  boys  were  already  in  the  pinnace,  and  the  rest  of  the 
party  near  the  water-side,  when  an  elderly  woman,  called  Kanee-kabareea, 
the  mother  of  the  boys,  and  one  of  the  king's  favourite  wives,  came  after 
him,  and  with  many  tears  and  entreaties  besought  him  not  to  go  on  board. 
At  the  same  time,  two  chiefs,  who  came  along  with  her,  laid  hold  of  him, 
and,  insisting  that  he  should  go  no  farther,  forced  him  to  sit  down.  The 
natives,  who  were  collecting  in  prodigious  numbers  along  the  shore, 
and  had  probably  been  alarmed  by  the  finng  of  the  great  guns,  and  the 
appearances  of  hostility  in  the  bay,  began  to  throng  round  Captain  Cook 
and  their  king.  He,  therefore,  finding  that  the  alarm  had  spread  too 
generally,  and  that  it  was  in  vain  to  think  any  longer  of  getting  him  off 
without  bloodshed,  at  last  gave  up  the  point. 

Though  the  enterprise  which  had  carried  Captain  Cook  on  shore  was 
abandoned,  yet  his  person  did  not  appear  to  have  been  in  the  least  danger, 
till  an  accident  happened  which  gave  a  fatal  turn  to  the  affair.  The  boats 
which  had  been  stationed  across  the  bay,  having  fired  at  some  canoes  at- 
tempting to  get  out,  unfortunately  had  killed  a  chief  of  the  first  rank. 
The  news  of  his  death  arrived  at  the  village  where  the  captain  was,  just 
as  he  had  left  the  king,  and  was  walking  slowly  toward  the  shore.  The 
ferment  it  occasioned  was  very  conspicuous  ;  the  women  and  children 
were  immediately  sent  off,  and  the  men  put  on  their  war-mats,  and 
armed  themselves  with  spears  and  stones.  Several  stones  were  thrown 
at  the  marines,  and  one  of  the  earees  attempted  to  stab  Mr.  Phillips. 
Captain  Cook  now  fired  his  second  barrel,  loaded  with  ball,  and  killed  one 
of  the  foremost  of  the  natives.  A  general  attack  with  stones  immediately 
followed,  which  was  answered  by  a  discharge  of  musketry  from  the  ma- 
rines and  the  people  in  the  boats.  What  followed  was  a  scene  of  the 
utmost  horror  and  confusion. 

Four  of  the  marines  were  cut  off  among  the  rocks  in  their  retreat,  and 
fell  a  sacrifice  to  the  fury  of  the  enemy  ;  three  more  were  dangerously 
wounded,  and  the  lieutenant,  who  had  received  a  stab  between  the  shoul- 
ders with  a  pahooa,  having  fortunately  reserved  his  fire,  shot  the  man 
who  had  wounded  him  just  as  he  was  going  to  repeat  his  blow.  The 
unfortunate  commander,  the  last  time  he  was  seen  distinctly,  was  stand- 
ing at  the  water'.s  edge,  and  calling  out  to  the  boats  to  cease  firing,  and 
to  pull  in.  If  it  be  true,  that  the  marines  and  boatmen  had  fired  without 
his  orders,  and  that  he  was  desirous  of  preventing  any  farther  bloodshed, 
it  is  not  improbable  that  his  humanity,  on  this  occasion,  proved  fatal  to  him  ; 
for  it  was  remarked,  that  while  he  faced  the  natives,  none  of  them  had 
offered  him  any  violence,  but  that,  having  turned  about  to  give  his  orders 
to  the  boats,  he  was  stabbed  in  the  back,  and  fell  with  his  face  into  the 
water.  On  seeing  him  fall,  the  islanders  set  up  a  great  shout,  and  his 
body  was  immediately  dragged  on  shore,  and  surrounded  by  the  enemy, 
who,  snatching  the  dagger  out  of  each  other's  hands,  showed  a  savage 
eagerness  to  have  a  share  in  his  destruction. 

Thus  fell  their  great  and  excellent  commander,  after  a  life  of  so  much 
distinguished  and  successful  enterprise  ;  his  death,  as  far  as  regards  him- 
self, cannot  be  reckoned  premature,  since  he  lived  to  finish  the  great  work 
for  which  he  seems  to  have  been  designed,  and  was  rather  removed  from 
the  enjoyment,  than  cutoff  from  the  acquisition  of  glory.  How  sincerely 
his  loss  was  felt  and  lamented  by  those  who  had  so  long  found  their  ge- 


JAMES  COOK.  287 

neral  security  in  his  skill  and  conduct,  and  every  consolation  under  their 
hardships  in  his  tenderness  and  humanity,  it  is  neither  necessary  nor 
possible  to  describe  ;  much  less  to  paint  the  horror  with  which  they  were 
struck,  and  the  universal  dejection  and  dismay  which  followed  so  dreadful 
and  unexpected  a  calamity. 

The  2lst,  Eappo  and  the  king's  son  came  on  board,  and  brought  with 
them  the  remaining  bones  of  Captain  Cook,  the  barrel  of  his  gun,  his 
shoes,  and  some  other  tritles  that  belonged  to  him.  Eappo  took  great 
pains  to  convince  them  that  Terreooboo,  Maiha-maiha,  and  himself,  were 
most  heartily  desirous  of  peace  ;  that  they  had  given  the  most  convincing 
proof  of  it  in  their  power  ;  and  that  they  had  been  prevented  from  giving 
it  sooner  by  the  other  chiefs,  many  of  whom  were  still  their  enemies.  He 
lamented,  with  the  greatest  sorrow,  the  death  of  six  chiefs  they  had  killed, 
80me  of  whom,  he  said,  were  among  their  best  friends.  The  cutter  was 
taken  away  by  Pareea's  people  ;  and  that  it  had  been  broken  up  the  next 
day.  The  arms  of  the  marines,  he  assured  them,  had  been  carried  off  by 
the  common  people,  and  we;re  irrecoverable,  the  bones  of  the  chief  alone 
having  been  preserved,  as  belonging  to  Terreooboo  'and  the  earees. 
Nothing  now  remained  but  to  perform  the  last  offices  to  their  great  and 
unfortunate  commander.  Eappo  was  dismissed  with  orders  to  taboo  all 
the  bay  ;  and  in  the  afternoon,'  the  bones  having  been  put  into  a  coffin,  and 
the  service  read  over  them,  they  were  committed  to  the  deep  with  the 
usual  military  honours. 

They  got  clear  of  the  land  about  ten  o'clock,  and  hoisting  in  the  boats, 
stood  to  the  northward.  Captain  Gierke  determined,  without  farther  loss 
of  time,  to  proceed  to  Atooi.  At  eight  in  the  morning  weighed,  and  stood 
to  the  norihward  till  daylight  on  the  28th,  when  they  bore  away  for  that 
island.  On  the  8lh  of  March,  at  nine  in  the  morning,  weighed,  and  sailed 
toward  Oneeheow,  and  at  three  in  the  afternoon  anchored  in  twenty 
fathoms  water,  nearly  on  the  same  spot  as  in  the  year  1778. 

On  the  15th  of  March,  at  seven  in  the  morning,  weighed  anchor,  and 
on  the  23d  of  April,  at  six  in  the  morning,  being  in  latitude  52  degrees  9 
minutes,  and  longitude  160  degrees  7  minutes,  on  the  fog  clearing  away, 
the  land  of  America  appeared  in  mountains  covered  with  snow.  On  the 
25th  had  a  transient  view  of  the  entrance  of  Awatsha  Bay  ;  but,  in  the 
prtesent  state  of  the  weather,  were  afraid  of  venturing  into  it.  Having 
passed  its  mouth,  which  is  about  four  miles  long,  they  opened  a  large 
circular  bason  of  twenty-five  miles  in  circumference  ;  and  at  half-past 
four  came  to  an  anchor  in  six  fathoms  water,  being  afraid  of  running  foul 
on  a  shoal,  or  some  sunk  rocks,  which  are  said,  by  Muller,  to  lie  in  the 
channel  of  the  harbour  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  The  middle  of  the  bay 
was  full  of  loose  ice,  drifting  with  the  tide  ;  but  the  shores  were  still 
entirely  blocked  up  with  it.  Great  flocks  of  wild  fowl  were  seen  of  vari- 
ous species  ;  likewise  ravens,  eagles,  and  large  flights  of  Greenland 
pigeons.  They  examined  every  corner  of  the  bay  with  glasses,  in  search 
of  the  town  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul ;  which,  according  to  the  accounts 
given  at  Oonalaska,  they  had  conceived  to  be  a  place  of  some  strength 
and  consideration.  At  length  they  discovered,  on  a  nariow  point  of  land 
to  the  north-north-east,  a  few  miserable  log-houses  and  some  conical 
huts  raised  on  poles,  amounting  in  all  to  about  thirty  ;  which,  from  their 
situation,  notwithstanding  all  the  respect  they  wished  to  entertain  for  a 
Russian  ostrog,  they  were  under  the  necessity  of  concluding  to  be  Petro- 
paulowska. 

In  company  with  Major  Behm,  the  governor,  was  Captain  Shmaleff, 


288  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

the  second  in  command,  and  another  officer,  with  the  whole  body  of  the 
merchants  of  the  place.  They  conducted  them  to  the  commander's  hous^e, 
where  they  were  received  by  his  lady  with  great  civility,  and  found  tea 
and  other  refreshments  prepared.  After  the  first  compHments  were  over, 
Mr.  Webber  was  desired  to  acquaint  the  major  with  the  object  of  the 
journey,  with  their  want  of  naval  stores,  flour,  and  fresh  provisions,  and 
other  necessaries  for  the  ships'  crews,  and  at  the  same  time  to  assure  him 
they  were  sensible,  from  what  they  had  already  seen  of  the  condition  of 
the  country  about  Awatsha  Bay,  they  could  not  expect  much  assistance 
from  him  in  that  quarter. 

The  houses  in  Bolcheresk,  the  capital,  are  all  of  one  fashion,  being 
built  of  logs,  and  thatched.  That  of  the  commander  is  much  larger  than 
the  rest,  consisting  of  three  rooms  of  a  considerable  size,  neatly  prepared, 
and  which  might  have  been  reckoned  handsome  if  the  talc,  with  which 
the  windows  were  covered,  had  not  given  ihem  a  poor  and  disagreeable 
appearance.  The  town  consists  of  several  rows  of  low  buildings,  each 
consisting  of  fiv€  or  six  dwellings,  connected  together  with  a  long  com- 
mon passage  running  the  lengtli  of  them,  on  one  side  of  which  is  the 
kitchen  and  store-house,  and  on  the  other  the  dwelling  apartments. 
Besides  these,  there  are  barracks  for  the  Russian  soldiers  and  Cossacks, 
R  well-looking  church,  and  a  count-room,  and,  at  the  end  of  the  town, 
a  great  numVjer  of  halagans,  belonging  to  the  Kamtschatdales.  The  in- 
habitants, taken  altogether,  amount  to  between  five  and  six  hundred.  In 
the  evening  the  major  gave  a  handsome  entertainment,  to  which  the 
principal  people  of  the  town  of  both  sexes  were  invited.  The  next  morn- 
mg  they  applied  privately  to  the  merchant  Fedositsch  to  purchase  some 
tobacco  for  the  sailors,  who  had  now  been  upward  of  a  twelvemonth 
without  this  favourite  commodity.  However,  this,  like  all  other  transac- 
tions of  the  same  kind,  came  immediately  to  the  major's  knowledge  ;  and 
they  were  soon  after  surprised  to  find  in  their  house  four  bags  of  tobacco, 
weighing  upvi^ard  of  100  pounds  each,  which  he  begged  might  be  pre- 
sented, in  the  name  of  himself  and  the  garrison  under  his  command,  to 
the  sailors. 

On  the  16th  of  June,  at  daylight,  weighed  anchor,  and  stood  out  of 
the  bay.  At  ten  at  night,  July  5th,  the  weather  becoming  clear,  they 
had  an  opportunity  of  seeing,  at  the  same  moment,  the  remarkable  peaked, 
hill  near  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  on  the  coast  of  America,  and  the  east 
cape  of  Asia,  with  the  two  connected  islands  of  St.  Diomede  between  them. 

On  the  21st,  the  wind  freshening  and  the  fog  clearing  away,  they  saw 
the  American  coast  to  the  south-east,  at  the  distance  of  eight  or  ten 
leagues,  and  hauled  in  for  it;  but  were  stopped  again  by  the  ice,  and 
obliged  to  bear  away  to  the  westward,  along  the  edge  of  it.  Thus  a  con- 
nected solid  field  of  ice  rendering  every  effort  they  could  make  to  a  nearer 
approach  to  the  land  fruitless,  they  took  a  last  farewell  of  a  north-east 
passage  to  Old  England.  On  the  22d  of  August,. 1779,  died  Captain 
Charles  Clerke,  in  the  thirty-eight  year  of  his  age.  He  died  of  a  con- 
sumption, which  had  evidently  commenced  before  he  left  England,  and 
of  which  he  had  lingered  during  the  whole  voyage. 

At  noon,  on  the  25th,  a  fresh  breeze  springing  up  from  the  eastward, 
they  stood  in  for  the  entrance  of  Awatsha  Bay  ;  when,  by  the  help  of  a 
fresh  breeze,  they  anchored  in  the  harbour  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul. 
Captain  Gore  made  out  the  new  commissions,  in  consequence  of  Captain 
Gierke's  death,  appointing  himself  to  the  command  of  the  Resolution, 
and  Lieutenant  King  to  the  command  of  the  Discovery. 


JAMES  COOK.  289 

At  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  9th  of  October,  having  cleared  the 
entrance  of  Awatsha  Bay,  they  steered  to  the  south-east,  with  the  wind 
north-west  and  by  west.  At  daybreak,  on  the  13th,  they  saw  the  second 
of  the  Kurile  Islands,  (called  by  the  Russians  Paramousir.)  This  land 
is  very  high,  and  almost  entirely  covered  with  snow.  At  daybreak  of 
the  26th  they  had  the  pleasure  of  descrying  high  land  to  the  westward, 
which  proved  to  be  Japan.  At  this  time  saw  a  number  of  Japanese  vessels 
close  in  with  the  land,  several  seemingly  engaged  in  fishing,  and  others 
standing  along  the  shore.  They  now  discovered  to  the  westward  a  remar- 
kabU  high  mountain,  with  a  round  top,  rising  far  inland.  There  is  no 
high  grtWflll«4iear  it,  the  coast  being  of  a  moderate  elevation,  and,  as  far 
as  they  coulc^udge,  from  the  haziness  of  the  horizon,  much  broken  by 
small  inlets,    ^ 

In  the  forenoon  of  the  29th  they  passed  several  Chinese  fishing-boats, 
who  eyed  them  with  great  indiflference.  At  nine  o'clock  of  the  31st 
came  to  anchor  in  six  fathoms  water ;  the  town  of  Macao  bearing  north- 
west, three  leagues  distant. 

While  they  lay  in  the  Typa,  Captain  King  was  shown,  in  a  garden 
belonging  to  an  English  gentleman  at  Macao,  the  rock  under  which, 
as  the  tradition  there  goes,  the  poet  Camoens  used  to  sit  and  compose 
his  Lusiad.  It  is  a  lofty  arch,  of  one  solid  stone,  and  forms  the  entrance 
of  a  grotto  dug  out  of  the  rising  ground  behind  it.  The  rock  is  over- 
shadowed by  large  spreading  trees,  and  commands  an  extensive  and  mag- 
nificent view  of  the  sea  and  the  interspersed  islands. 

On  the  12th  of  January,  1780,  at  noon,  they  unmoored,  and  scaled  the 
guns.  On  the  17th  had  heavy  gales  from  the  east  by  north,  with  a  rough 
tumbling  sea,  and  the  weather  overcast  and  boisterous.  In  the  morning 
of  the  20th,  the  wind  becoming  more  moderate,  they  let  out  the  reefs, 
and  steered  west  by  south  for  Pulo  Condore.  At  six  anchored,  with  the 
best  bovv^er,  in  six  fathoms.  Pulo  Condore  is  high  and  mountainous,  and 
surrounded  by  several  smaller  islands,  some  of  which  are  less  than  one, 
and  others  two  miles  distant.  It  takes  its  name  from  two  Malay  words 
Pulo  signifying  an  island,  and  Condore  a  calabash,  of  which  it  produces 
great  quantities.  It  is  of  the  form  of  a  crescent,  extending  near  eight 
miles  from  the  southernmost  point,  in  a  north-east  direction  ;  but  its 
breadth  nowhere  exceeds  two  miles. 

On  the  28lh  of  January  unmoored  ;  and,  as  soon  as  they  were  clear  of 
the  harbour,  steered  south-south-west  for  PuloTimoan.  At  daylight  on 
the  3d  they  came  in  sight  of  the  Three  Islands  ;  and  soon  after,  of 
Monopin  Hill,  on  the  Island  of  Banca. 

From  the  time  of  entering  the  Strait  of  Banca,  they  began  to  experi 
ence  the  powerful  effects  of  this  pestilential  climate.  Two  of  their  peo- 
ple fell  dangerously  ill  of  malignant  putrid  fevers  ;  which,  however,  were 
prevented  from  spreading,  by  putting  the  patients  apart  from  the  rest,  in 
the  most  airy  berths.  Many  were  attacked  with  teazing  coughs  ;  others 
complained  of  violent  pains  in  the  head  ;  and  even  the  healthiest  among 
them  felt  a  sensation  of  suffocating  heat,  attended  by  an  insufferable  lan- 
gour  and  a  total  loss  of  appetite. 

In  the  evening  of  the  10th  of  April,  the  Gunner's  Quoin  bore  north 
by  east,  and  False  Cape  east-north-east ;  but  the  wind  being  at  south- 
west, and  variable,  prevented  their  getting  into  False  Bay  till  the  evening 
of  the  12th,  when  they  dropped  anchor  abreast  of  Simon's  Bay,  Cape 
of  Good  Hope. 

On  the  12th  of  June  passed  the  equator,  for  the  fourth  time  during  this 
25 


290  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

voyage,  m  longitude  26  degrees  16  minutes  west.  On  the  12th  of  Aa- 
gust  made  the  western  coast  of  Ireland^  after  a  fruitless  attempt  to  get 
into  Port  Galway.  On  the  22d  of  August,  at  eleven  in  the  morning, 
both  ships  came  to  an  anchor  at  Stromness  ;  and  on  the  4th  day  of  Oc- 
tober they  arrived  safe  at  the  Noro,  after  an  absence  of  four  years,  two 
months,  and  twenty-two  days. 


CAPTAINS  PORTLOCK  AND  DIXON.— 1785-88. 

This  voyage  was  undertaken  for  the  purposes  of  commerce  ;  principally, 
indeed,  for  the  fur  trade,  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  which  had 
been  strongly  recommended  by  Captains  Cook  and  King  in  their  last 
voyage.  Two  vessels  were  fitted  out  for  this  purpose,  the  King  George 
and  Queen  Charlotte,  by  a  society  of  merchants  and  others,  the  former 
commanded  by  Nathaniel  Portlock,  the  latter  by  George  Dkon,  both  of 
whom  had  been  with  Captain  Cook  ;  the  King  George  having  sixty  men, 
the  Queen  Charlotte  thirty. 

September  20th,  they  quitted  St.  Helens,  and,  proceeding  to  Guernsey, 
left  it  on  the  25th.  October  16th,  saw  the  Canary  Islands,  and  on  the  24th 
the  Cape  de  Verde  group,  anchoring  for  a  short  time  in  Port  Praya  Bay, 
in  St.  Jago.  Proceeding  south,  they  anchored  in  Port  Egmont,  Falkland 
Islands,  January  5th,  1786,  where,  taking  in  water,  they  made  sail  for 
States  Bay,  in  Terra  del  Fuego,  and  remained  some  time,  no  refresh- 
ments being  procurable  for  the  crews  at  either  place,  except  water.  Ha- 
ving made  a  good  offing  from  Cape  Horn,  they  had  tolerable  weather  ; 
and  continuing  their  route  without  touching  at  any  place,  or  meeting  with 
anything  worthy  of  notice,  dropped  anchor  the  26th  of  May,  in  Karakakooa 
Bay,  in  Owyhee,  Sandwich  Islands. 

The  natives  crowded  them  very  much,  bartering  a  variety  of  articles  ; 
out  were,  nevertheless,  extremely  troublesome  ;  and,  from  fires  being  ol^ 
served  at  night  in  all  parts  of  the  island,  it  was  judged  they  were  hostilely 
inclined,  this  being  preparatory  to  prayers  to  their  deities  for  success  in 
war.  It  was  also  the  general  opinion,  that  it  would  be  impossible  to 
water  the  vessels  without  a  strong  guard,  which  they  could  not  well 
spare,  and  which  it  was  clear  would  bring  on  endless  quarrels  ;  while  the 
people  were  probably  jealous  that  these  vessels  were  come  to  revenge 
the  death  of  Captain  Cook.  An  inferior  chief,  who  came  off  among  the 
crowds  of  natives,  said  that  old  Terreooboo,  the  king,  was  dead,  and 
that  Maiha-Maiha  was  his  successor.  Next  day  they  stood  out  of  the 
bay,  lying-to  three  leagues  off,  to  carry  on  trade  for  hogs,  plantains,  taro, 
&c.,  &c.,  which  proved  so  serviceable  that  the  sick,  of  whom  there  were 
several,  began  rapidly  to  recover.  Several  of  the  natives  being  ques- 
tioned, said,  that  their  principal  chiefs  were  absent,  making  war  with  a 
neighbouring  island,  which  was  one  reason  of  their  being  unwilling  to 
admit  strangers  on  shore  at  their  island. 

June  1st,  anchored  in  a  bay  in  Woahoo,  another  of  the  islands,  and 
were  received  very  civilly  by  the  inhabitants  ;  but  refreshments  were 
scarce,  and  watering  so  difficult,  that  they  were  obliged  to  employ  the 
natives,  giving  nails  and  other  trifling  articles  in  payment,  according  to 
the  quantity  supplied  by  each  canoe.  They  now  stood  for  another  of 
the  islandsi  named  Oneehow  ;  and  on  the  8th  anchored  in  Yam  Bay, 
■  where  supplies  of  fruit,  vegetables,  and  pigs,  were  willingly  afforded  by 
the  principal  chief,  Abbenooc,  who  seemed  strongly  their  friend,  frora 


^RTLOCK  AND  DIXOJ^.  291 

recollecting  Captain  Portlock  along  with  Cook.  He  also  sent  to  Atooi 
for  farther  supplies,  when  several  large  double  canoes  were  sent  by  the 
king  or  chief  as  presents,  which  were  duly  acknowledged  by  returning 
others  to  him  as  well  as  to  their  friend  Abbenooc,  who  exerted  himself 
for  their  interest ;  and  from  whom  they  took  leave,  with  regret,  on  the 
13th,  standing  for  the  coast  of  America. 

July  10th,  made  the  entrance  of  Cook's  River  ;  and,  while  looking  for 
good  anchorage,  were  astonished  by  the  report  of  a  great  gun  ;  soon 
afterward  a  party  of  Russians  came  on  board,  attended  by  some  In- 
dians ;  but  none  understanding  the  language  of  either,  no  satisfactory 
information  could  be  gained  from  them.  The  country  here  is  exceeding- 
ly mountainous,  and  the  more  distant  hills  covered  with  snow  ;  those 
sloping  down  nearest  the  shore  are  covered  with  pines,  birch,  and  other 
trees  and  shrubs  ;  it  was,  however,  cold,  damp,  and  disagreeable,  the 
ground  barren,  and  the  aspect  of  the  whole  extremely  dreary.  Most  of 
the  natives  had  fled  from  their  huts,  alarmed,  perhaps,  by  the  Russians. 
Several  bears  were  seen,  but  none  near  enough  to  fire  at.  Two  veins 
of  kennel-coal  were  found,  which  burnt  very  well,  and  the  place  was,  there- 
fore, called  Coal  Harbour.  Weighing  anchor  from  this  place,  they  pro- 
ceeded only  a  little  way  and  brought  up  again,  when  first  a  single  canoe 
and  afterward  several  others,  with  many  natives,  came  off  to  dispose  of 
a  few  sea  otter-skins  and  other  furs,  with  dried  salmon  and  roots,  being 
most  of  the  refreshments  their  country  affords.  They  bahaved  in  a 
friendly  manner,  except  in  a  few  thefts  of  iron  articles,  which,  being  of 
no  material  value,  were  not  taken  much  notice  of.  An  elderly  chief, 
paying  Captain  Dixon  a  visit,  informed  him  that  they  had  a  battle  with 
the  Russians,  in  which  the  latter  were  worsted,  and  added,  that,  from 
'the  difference  of  dress,  he  knew  they  were  of  a  different  nation.  Another 
attempted  to  persuade  them  to  make  war  against  them  ;  but  this  was 
evaded  on  the  part  of  the  English  by  the  best  excuses  they  could  make. 

Quitting  this  place,  they  tried  for  some  time  to  get  into  Prince  Wil- 
liam's Sound  ;  but,  by  a  series  of  unfavourable  winds,  failed  in  this  pursuit. 
September  23d,  having  laboured  in  vain  to  fiad  a  harbour  for  their  pur- 
poses, and  not  being  nble  to  get  into  King  George's  Sound,  or  any  other 
they  knew,  by  bad  weather  and  a  variety  of  dangerous  shoals  and  small 
islands,  they  at  length  stood  away  for  the  Sandwich  Islands  to  pass  the 
winter,  and  return  in  the  spring.  November  14th,  saw  the  summit  of 
the  high  mountain  in  Owyhee  covered  with  snow,  and  employed  two  or 
three  following  days  in  coasting  it,  the  natives  bringing  off  a  variety  of 
articles  to  barter  for  iron  and  trinkets.  The  first  mate  of  the  King 
George  reporting,  that  a  bay  they  intended  to  anchor  in  did  not  admit  of 
good  anchorage,  this  design  was  dropped.  During  the  time  they  lay-to, 
hogs,  fowls,  wild  geese,  bread  fruit,  plantains,  and  several  other  things 
were  procured  in  considerable  quantities  ;  the  natives  dealing  pretty  fairly, 
but  committing  a  variety  of  thefts,  even  before  their  faces,  with  a  de.^- 
terity  almost  inimitable.  For  several  days  they  continued  lying-to  off 
the  Islands  of  Movvee  and  Morotoi,  procuring  refreshments  and  receiving 
visits  till  the  30th,  when  both  ships  bore  away  for  King  George's  Bay, 
in  Whoaboo,  where  they  anchored  in  safety,  after  experrencing  a  variety 
of  winds  from  all  points  of  the  compass. 

Here  they  found  everything  tabooed,  or  forbidden,  so  that  it  became 
necessary  to  court  the  king's  favour  ;  for  which  purpose  a  present  was  sent* 
to  him,  and  another  to  a  priest,  their  acquaintance  on  the  former  occasion, 
v/lio  paid  them  a  visit,  handing  up  a  pig  and  plantaio,  which  in  ihesa 


292  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

islands  are  signs  of  friendship.  Tiiis  was  soon  followed  by  a  visit  fronj 
Tahecterre,  the  king,  fcrllowed  by  all  the  chiefs,  who  took  off  the  taboo. 
The  priest  was  rcmarliable  for  drinking  large  quantities  of  the  ava,  or  yava- 
juice,  for  which  he  had  two  men  in  constant  attendance  chewing  the 
root,  which,  with  their  spittle,  forms  this  singular  and  (to  us)  nauseous 
beverage.  The  yava  is  a  root  resembling  liquorice  in  shape  and  colour. 
None  but  the  chiefs  and  priests  have  permission  to  use  it,  and  these  are 
never  at  the  trouble  of  chewing  it  themselves  ;  but,  as  above  observed, 
employ  servants ;  these  begin  with  chevving  a  sufficient  quantity,  and 
when  well  masticated,  it  is  put  into  a  wooden  bowl  kept  for  the  purpose, 
to  which  a  small  quantity  of  water  is  added  ;  the  whole  is  then  strained 
through  a  cloth,  and,  like  wine  in  Europe,  it  thus  forms  not  merely  the  drink, 
but  the  delight  of  all  parlies,  feasts,  rejoicings,  and,  in  short,  every  public 
asse:nblage  of  the  leading  people.  Its  effects,  hovvever,  are  very  perni- 
cious ;  it  is  partly  intoxicating,  or  rather  stupifying  ;  and,  by  its  constant 
use,  the  old  priest  was  exceedingly  debilitated,  and  his  body  covered  by  a 
white  scurf,  resembling  the  leprosy,  which  is  a  common  symptom  through- 
out the  South  Sea  islands  of  its  frequent  use. 

The  taboo  was  again  put  on  without  any  explanation  being  given,  though 
several  canoes  nevertheless  came  off,  but  without  any  women,  as  had 
been  formerly  the  case.  Afterward  it  was  understood  that  one  of  them 
had  been  detected  in  the  King  George  eating  pork,  which  being  a  hei- 
nous offence,  she  was  taken  as  soon  as  she  came  on  shore,  and  offered  a 
sacrifice  to  the  gods  :  human  sacrifices,  it  appears,  are  here,  as  in  most 
of  the  South  Sea  islands,  frequently  presented,  and  it  is  unquestionably 
the  most  inhuman  and  barbarous  custom  among  them. 

December  19th,  weighed,  and  two  days  afterward  anchored  between 
Atooi  and  Wymea,  where,  after  paying  and  receiving  some  visits,  their  ' 
former  friend,  Abbenooe,  came  on  board  with  two  canoes  loaded  with 
provisions,  and  remained  for  two  or  three  days,  seemingly  very  well  pleased 
with  his  new  abode.  The  king  also  made  his  appearance  ;  he  was  stout 
and  well  made,  about  forty-five  years  of  age,  and  possessed  of  more  un- 
derstanding and  good  nature  than  any  of  his  subjects.  His  behaviour  to 
the  English  displayed  much  friendship  and  disinterestedness.  Next  day 
he  came  again,  attended  by  his  uncle,  a  chief  of  great  consequence,  named 
Neeheow-hooa,  the  greatest  warrior  of  the  islands,  and  crippled  with 
wounds,  having  lost  an  eye  and  likely  to  lose  the  other.  The  surgeon 
dressed  his  wounds,  and  gave  him  instructions  how  to  proceed  in  future. 

January  5th,  caught  a  shark  in  the  King  George,  thirteeri  and  a  half 
foet  long,  eight  and  a  half  broad,  and  six  feet  in  the  liver  ;  forty-eight 
young  ones  were  in  her,  about  eight  inches  each  in  length  ;  two  whole 
turtles  of  sixty  pounds  each  ;  several  small  pigs,  and  a  quantity  of  bones  ; 
80  that  the  numbers  and  the  voracity  of  this  fish  may  be  conceived. 
Next  day  tire  king  paid  another  visit,  bringing  his  eldest  son,  a  fine  boy, 
about  twelve  years  old,  named  Taaevee.  This  was  meant  as  a  farewell 
visit,  his  majesty  being  about  to  quit  the  island  for  a  short  time,  leaving 
orders,  however,  with  Abbenooe,  to  let  his  friends,  the  English,  be  well 
supplied  with  all  the  island  afforded  during  his  absence.  His  uncle,  the 
warrior,  also  accompanied  him,  who,  in  gratitude  for  the  assistance  render- 
ed by  the  surgeon,  presented  him  a  double  canoe  filled  with  hogs,  for 
which  the  veteran  persisted  in  refusing  any  recompense.  From  this  time 
to  the  10th  they  were  employed  in  purchasing  wood,  water,  provisions, 
curiosities,  and  everything  else  they  wanted  ;  and  now,  quitting  the 
ancho/age,  proceeded  to  Yam  Bay,  in  Oaeehow,  where,  after  making  a 


PORTLOCK  AND  DIXON.  293 

few  excursions,  they  departed  once  more  for  Wymea  Bay,  Atooi.  Here 
two  chiefs  displayed  their  dexterity,  at  Captain  Portlock's  request,  in  the 
use  of  their  spears,  all  who  were  spectators  feeling  astonishment  and  pain 
at  the  dangers  they  incurred  in  this  amusement. 

The  island  is  tolerably  level,  the  soil  mostly  a  light  red  earth,  which, 
if  cultivated  properly,  might  be  very  productive.  Atappa  is  a  tolerably 
large  village,  situated  behind  a  long  row  of  cocoa  nut  trees,  which  affords 
the  inhabitants  ample  shelter  from  the  heat  of  the  sun  ;  in  the  swampy 
ground,  of  which  there  is  a  good  deal,  the  sugar-cane  and  taso  is  culti- 
vated. Their  burying-place  is  a  high  wooden  pile,  of  a  quadrangular 
form,  situated  on  the  side  of  a  hill.  The  river  is  not  quite  a  hundred 
yards  over  in  the  widest  part,  gliding  along  in  a  clear  smooth  stream, 
except  in  rainy  weather,  when  the  body  of  water  is  more  tumultuous 
and  muddy. 

On  the  3d  of  March  weighed,  and  made  sail  for  the  coast  of  America, 
and  on  the  24th  of  April  saw  Montager  Island,  coming  to  anchor  in  the 
harbour,  where  there  is  sufficient  shelter  from  the  prevailing  winds.  la 
the  evening  several  canoes  come  otf,  with  one  or  two  merr  in  each,  who 
were  highly  delighted  with  the  barking  of  some  dogs  on  board,  beginning 
to  whistle,  and  calling  out  Towzer  !  Towzer  !  here  !  here  !  which  occa- 
sioned considerable  surprise  to  their  visiters,  who  could  not  account  for 
those  few  words  of  English  and  this  manner  of  addressing  these  animals. 
Boats  were  employed  in  wooding  and  watering,  others  in  picking  up 
shell-fish  or  shooting  wild  ducks  and  geese,  of  which  there  were  a  few. 
The  country  was  covered  with  snow ;  the  Russians,  from  several  traces 
in  the  woods,  had  evidently  been  here.  The  weather  continued  very 
variable,  several  unsuccessful  attempts  being  made  to  get  into  Prince 
William's  Sound  ;  and  only  a  single  straggling  inhabitant  being  seen  now 
and  then,  so  that  there  was  no  opportunity  to  trade. 

Captain  Dixon  now  made  an  excursion  in  his  boats  up  the  sound  ;  and 
receiving  some  hints  from  the  natives  of  a  vessel  being  there,  continued 
his  search  for  several  days,  and  at  length  got  on  board  a  vessel  called  the 
Nootka,  from  Bengal,  commanded  by  Mr.  Meares,  which  had  wintered 
in  Snug-corner  Cove.  The  scurvy  had  made  dreadful  havoc  among 
them,  nearly  all  the  officers  and  many  of  the  crew  having  died  of  this 
frightful  disorder,  so  that  at  length  the  captain  was  the  only  person  on 
board  able  to  walk  the  deck.  Along  with  his  first  mate  he  soon  after- 
ward visited  the  ships,  met  with  a  hearty  reception,  and  received  such 
assistance  as  ho  wanted  and  as  the  others  could  afford.  From  him  they 
learned  that  few  or  no  furs  could  be  procured  here  ;  that  several  vessels 
from  India  had  been  already  on  this  coast  for  the  purposes  of  trade  ;  and 
that  two  or  three  were  expected  next  month  in  the  same  pursuit,  which 
immediately  determined  our  voyagers  to  separate  and  push  for  different 
parts  of  the  coast,  in  order  to  be  before  their  expected  rivals  ;  the  Queen 
Charlotte  to  proceed  to  King  George's  Sound,  and  Messrs.  Hayward  and 
Hill  to  Cook's  River,  in  the  King  George's  long-boat,  the  latter  to  remain 
where  she  was  for  the  present. 

On  the  13th  May  several  canoes  visited  them,  in  one  of  which  was  a 
chief  of  great  consequence,  named  Sheenaawa,  whose  party,  like  most 
others,  were  determined  thieves,  exerting  their  ingenuity  and  tricks  for 
this  purpose  in  an  extraordinary  degree.  They  danced,  sung,  laughed, 
and  diverted  the  attention  of  the  seamen  in  every  possible  way,  while 
slyly  their  hands  were  seizing  everything  on  the  decks,  so  that  literally 
they  were  smiling  in  their  faces  and  robbing  them  at  the  same  time.     In 

25* 


294  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

the  meantime  the  Queen  Charlotte  and  the  long-boat  sailed,  while  the 
King  George  shifted  to  Hinchinbroke  Cove.  The  appearance  of  the 
land  here  was  very  unpromising,  being  covered  though  at  this  season, 
with  deep  snow  ;  a  few  natives  made  their  appearance  with  skins,  who 
told  them  that,  as  the  summer  advanced,  some  salmon  would  be  found  in 
the  fresh  water  rivulets,  of  which  there  are  several  in  the  vicinity.  Some 
of  the  boats  were  sent  out  to  trade,  which  were  tolerably  successful ; 
but  they  also  suffered  from  continual  thefts,  which  were  sometimes  ac- 
companied by  menaces,  if  they  attempted  to  resist  the  plunderers. 

June  9th,  the  Nootka  left  her  former  anchorage,  where  she  had  been 
Irozen  in,  and  came  close  to  the  King  George,  when  the  crew  of  the 
latter  were  partly  employed  in  rendering  her  assistance.  Two  days 
afterward  ihe  long-boat  returned  from  Cook's  River  with  a  very  good 
cargo,  and  was  again  sent  off  with  orders  to  return  by  the  20th  of  July. 
On  the  19Lh  the  Nootka  sailed.  Next  day  the  surgeon  took  the  invalids 
on  shore  for  an  excursion,  who,  by  the  use  of  spruce-beer,  which  they 
now  brewed  in  abundance,  were  rapidly  recovering.  In  the  evening 
observed  twa  Indian  boats  and  several  canoes,  in  which  were  about 
twenty-five  natives,  who  came  alongside  next  morning.  Their  chief, 
named  Taatucktellingnuke,  was  paralytic  on  one  side,  had  a  long  beard, 
and  seemed  about  sixty  years  of  age  ;  his  country  was  called  Cheenee- 
cock,  situated  toward  the  south-west  part  of  the  sound.  He  appeared 
very  friendly,  made  Portlock  a  present  of  a  skin  and  some  salmon,  and 
would  not  be  satisfied  without  taking  two  of  the  seamen  with  him  for 
the  night,  leaving  three  of  his  own  people  as  hostages  ;  these  men  were 
treated  most  kindly  by  the  old  chief,  and  were  conducted  on  board  again 
in  due  time,  satisfied  with  their  host. 

July  I  Ith,  hauled  the  seine  frequently,  when  not  less  than  2000  salmon 
were  caught  at  each  haul  ;  and  so  great  were  their  numbers,  that  ships 
prepared  for  the  purpose  might  have  obtained  any  quantity  they  wished. 
The  long-boat  relumed  on  the  21st,  though  without  so  much  success  as 
formerly.  On  the  2Gth  sailed  from  this  place.  The  natives  in  general 
are  short  iu  stature,  with  flat  faces  and  noses,  ill-formed  legs,  but  good 
teeth  and  eyes  ;  they  wear  their  hair,  which  is  black  and  straight,  very 
long,  but  cut  it  short  on  the  death«of  a  relation,  this  seeming  their  only 
method  of  mourning.  The  men  and  women  differ  little  in  appearance  ; 
both  are  extremely  fond  of  ornaments,  yet  are  very  filthy  in  person  ;  and  it 
is  said  will,  when  pressed  for  food,  devour  the  vermin  out  of  their  heads. 
They  are  attentive  to  their  women,  but  jealous  of  them.  Their  thiev- 
ing tiabits  seem  fixed,  the  most  dexterous  being  most  in  esteem,  and  re- 
ceiving the  greatest  applause  for  the  exertion  of  his  talents ;  he  is  also 
distinguished  by  a  fantastical  dress,  which,  while  it  excites  the  notice  of 
the  spectators,  gives  the  owner  additional  opportunities  of  exerting  his 
fingers  at  their  expense.  They  live  upon  whatever  animals  chance 
throws  in  the  way,  in  addition  to  fish  ;  the  latter  are  dried  in  the  sun, 
and  when  eaten  fresh  are  roasted  before  a  fire.  Their  winter  habitations 
seem  but  ill-contrived,  being  from  four  to  six  feet  high,  ten  feet  long, 
eight  broad,  and  built  with  thick  plank;  in  these  confined  huts  great  num- 
bers sometimes  live  together ;  in  summer  they  wander  to  and  fro  as  incli- 
nation or  necessity  dictates,  taking  shelter  u»der  temporary  structures  ol 
branches,  assisted  by  their  canoes. 

By  the  3d  of  August  had  m.ade  little  j^rogress,  from  the  shifting  of  the 
wind.  On  the  6th  were  followed  by  a  large  Indian  boat  with  twelve  per- 
sons on  board,  whose  language  and  manners  were  very  different  from 


PORTLOCK  AND  DIXON. ,  295 

those  of  the  people  of  Prince  William's  Sound ;  a  few  skins  were  pro- 
cured of  them,  but  not  dressed  or  stretched  like  those  of  the  sound.  At 
the  approach  of  evening  they  wished  to  take  one  of  the  seamen  with 
them  on  shore  for  the  night,  who  accordingly  went,  two  hostages  being 
left  behind  for  his  safety;  next  day  they  returned  with  him.  Their 
residence,  it  seems,  was  near  the  foot  of  a  hill,  beside  a  rivulet  of  fresh 
water  ;  their  house  was  only  a  temporary  habitation,  and  they  possessed 
scarcely  anything  to  trade  with.  In  the  meantime  the  long-boat  was 
despatched  to  seek  for  furs  near  Cape  Edgecombe.  Joseph  Woodcock, 
one  of  the  seamen,  again  slept  on  shore  with  the  natives,  in  a  bay  near 
the  ship.  On  the  8ih  two  large  boats  visited  them,  with  twenty-five  men, 
women,  and  children  on  board,  who,  very  different  from  their  other 
visiters,  seemed  very  honest,  and  who  were  invited  to  dinner  in  the  cabin, 
when  they  relished  the  English  cookery  so  well,  that  the  dishes  were 
quickly  obliged  to  be  replenished.  These  departed  in  the  evening  well 
pleased  with  their  entertainment,  promising  to  return  with  the  means  of 
trading  with  their  new  friends. 

On  the  nth  a  new  tribe  visited  them  from  the  eastward,  with  about 
the  same  number  of  persons  as  the  last ;  four  days  after  the  long-boat 
returned,  having  had  pretty  good  success,  notwithstanding  some  acts  of 
hostility  which  they  had  been  compelled  to  retahate  upon  the  Indians. 
Another  party,  from  the  north-west,  were  extremely  addicted  to  thieving ; 
nothing  could  escape  them  ;  and,  when  detected,  were  very  impudent, 
and  often  threatened  those  they  robbed.  The  men  were  of  the  size  of 
Europeans,  of  a  fierce  and  savage  aspect,  using  daggers  and  long  spears, 
easily  provoked  and  ready  to  indulge  their  anger.  The  women  at  this 
anchorage,  which  was  named  Portlock's  Harbour,  disfigure  themselves 
by  making  an  incision  in  the  upper  lip,  in  which  they  wear  a  piece  of 
wood  of  an  oval  form,  larger  according  to  their  age,  so  that  some  were 
of  the  size  of  a  tea-saucer  ;  the  weight  of  this  encumbrance  drags  the 
lip  down,  exposing  the  whole  of  the  lower  teeth,  which  makes  a  most 
unsightly  appearance,  and  must  also  be  a  real  inconvenience. 

August  22d,  weighed  and  made  sail  from  this  coast,  having  done  as 
much  as  it  seemed  likely  they  could  do  in  the  way  of  trade.  September 
the  28th,  made  Owyhee,  the  principal  of  the  Sandwich  group,  when 
several  canoes  came  off,  with  whom  a  brisk  trade  for  hogs  and  other 
refreshments  was  carried  on.  At  Atooi  they  found  the  Nootka  and 
Queen  Charlotte  had  been  there,  and  left  letters  for  the  King  George. 
After  procuring  what  necessaries  they  wanted.  Captain  Portlock  directed 
his  course  for  China  with  his  cargo  of  furs  ;  on  the  4ih  of  November  saw 
Say  pan  and  Tinian,  two  of  the  Ladrone  Islands  ;  and  on  the  21st  anchored 
in  Macao  Roads,  where  Captain  Dixon  was  found,  whose  transadkons 
shall  now  be  noticed. 

After  separating  the  Queen  Charlotte  coasted  it  for  some  time,  till, 
seeing  an  appearance  of  an  inlet,  a  boat  was  despatched,  which  found  an 
excellent  harbour,  where  she  soon  after  anchored.  Several  canoes  came 
off,  from  whom  some  skins  were  procured,  but  by  no  means  so  many  as 
they  had  at  first  reason  to  expect.  The  number  of  inhabitants  was  about 
seventy  ;  the  harbour,  which  is  good,  was  named  Port  Mulgrave,  and  is 
situated  in  59  degrees  32  minutes  north  latitude,  and  140  degrees  west 
longitude.  The  language  of  these  people  is  quite  different  from  that  of 
Prince  William's  Sound,  or  Cook's  River,  being  extremely  uncouth  and 
difficult  to  pronounce.  The  mode  in  which  they  dispose  of  their  dead  is 
remarkable  ;  the  head  is  separated  from  the  body,  and  both  are  v?rapped 


296  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

in  furs,  the  former  being  put  into  a  box,  the  latter  into  an  oblong  chest, 
which  are  afterward  preserved  and  disposed  of  in  a  fanciful  way. 

June  4th,  quitted  this  place,  and  kept  beating  to  the  southward  ;  a  har- 
bour was  perceived  at  a  distance,  which,  upon  examination  by  the  boats, 
was  found  to  extend  to  a  considerable  distance,  with  a  number  of  coves 
here  and  there,  very  well  calculated  for  anchorage  ;  it  was  named  Norfolk 
Sound.  The  people  were  at  first  civil  and  well-behaved  ;  but  soon  be- 
came troublesome  and  thievish,  like  almost  all  their  brethren  on  this 
coast.  Their  numbers  exceed  450,  including  women  and  children  ;  in 
appearance  they  resemble  the  people  of  Port  Mulgrave,  their  faces  being 
similarly  painted,  and  the  lips  of  the  women  distorted  in  the  same  man- 
ner. One  of  the  chiefs  was  in  possession  of  a  white  shirt,  on  which  he 
set  a  great  value  ;  upon  examination,  it  proved  to  be  of  Spanish  make, 
two  ships  of  that  nation  having  been  on  this  coast  in  1775.  Trade  here 
was  not  very  brisk.  A  creek  of  considerable  extent  received  the  name 
of  Port  Banks,  in  honour  of  Sir  Joseph ;  they  continued  standing  to  and 
fro  with  various  success  in  trade. 

July  1st,  saw  an  island,  and  were  soon  surrounded  by  Indians,  who, 
after  gratifying  their  curiosity  in  examining  the  vessel,  began  to  trade, 
and  soon  parted  with  all  their  skins.  Several  fresh  tribes  visited  them 
almost  daily,  who,  delighted  with  European  articles  of  barter,  were  content 
to  leave  their  furs  behind  in  exchange.  The  residence  of  one  was 
strongly  fortified,  resembling  a  hippah,  or  fortified  place,  in  New  Zealand  ; 
and,  from  some  circumstances  which  transpired,  JJixon  was  tempted  also 
to  believe  they  were  also,  like  the  New  Zealanders,  cannibals.  Our 
traders  now  found  it  better  to  keep  shifting  to  and  fro  than  to  remain  in 
one  place.  Proceeding  to  the  eastward,  eleven  canoes  came  alongside 
on  the  24th  with  180  persons  ;  but  curiosity  was  the  prevailing  motive, 
as  they  had  nothing  to  sell ;  and  five  days  after,  no  less  than  300  men, 
women,  and  children,  in  eighteen  canoes,  came  oflf  to  indulge  their  curi- 
osity ;  a  number  that,  on  this  coast,  is  rarely  found  in  one  community. 
Their  chief  had  the  most  savage  aspect  of  any  yet  seen,  his  whole  appea- 
rance sufficiently  marking  him  as  the  leader  of  a  tribe  of  cannibals.  His 
stature  was  above  the  common  size,  his  body  spare  and  thin,  and,  though 
seemingly  lank  and  emaciated,  his  step  was  bold  and  firm,  his  limbs  strong 
and  muscular ;  his  eyes,  which  were  large  and  goggling,  seemed  ready 
to  start  from  their  sockets ;  his  forehead  deeply  wrinkled,  as  well  by  aga 
as  an  habitual  frown,  which,  joined  to  a  long  visage,  hollow  cheeks,  high 
cheek-bones,  and  natural  ferocity  of  temper,  rendered  him  a  most  formi- 
dable figure.  He  however  behaved  very  well  to  the  English,  and,  by 
means  of  a  present  or  two,  became  their  fast  friend. 

August  1st,  thought  now  of  joining  ihe  King  George  in  the  sound  of 
that  name  ;  and,  making  sail  for  that  purpose,  fell  in,  on  the  8th,  with  the 
Prince  of  Wales  and  Princess  Royal,  two  vessels  fitted  out  by  the  own- 
ers of  the  King  George  and  Queen  Charlotte,  and  hearing  from  them 
that  the  former  vessel  was  not  in  the  sound.  Captain  Dixon  made  sail  for 
the  Sandwich  Islands. 

This  extensive  portion  of  America  exhibits  on  the  whole  the  appea- 
rance of  a  large  continued  forest,  covered  with  pines  of  different  species, 
intermixed  with  alder,  birch,  hazel,  and  in  the  valleys  with  wild  goose- 
berry, currant,  and  raspberry  trees  ;  besides  a  vast  quantity  of  low  brush- 
wood. The  soil  on  the  hills  is  a  compound  of  rotten  moss  and  decayed 
trees,  which,  being  carried  down  with  the  snows  into  the  valleys,  and 
mixing  there  with  a  light  sand,  forms  a  soil  in  which  most  English  vege- 


PORTLOCK  AND  DIXON.  297 

tables  might  grow,  if  assisted  a  little  by  art  or  attention.  The  numoer 
of  inhabitants,  from  Cook's  River  to  King  George's  Sound,  may  be  about 
10,000  ;  but  the  country  must  be  very  thinly  peopled,  to  which  their  con- 
tinual wars  necessarily  tend. 

September  2d,  made  Owyhee,  and,  after  procuring  refreshments,  stood 
on  for  Whahoo,  being  visited  the  next  day  by  Abbenooe  and  the  king,  by 
whose  commands  they  received  abundant  supplies  of  wood,  v/ater,  and 
provisions,  of  which  they  were  in  extreme  want,  several  of  the  crew 
being  nearly  dead  with  the  scurvy.  Atooi  was  their  next  destination, 
where  the  chiefs  inquired  particularly  after  their  friend  Po-pote,  (Captain 
Portlock,)  and  were  desirous  of  contributing  all  in  their  power  to  the 
assistance  of  the  ship,  every  one  supplying  ihe  captain  with  a  liberahty 
as  unbounded  as  it  was  unexpected,  but  which  did  not  go  unrewarded  ; 
saws,  hatchets,  nails,  and  other  iron  instruments  being  given  to  the  men, 
and  buttons,  beads,  and  a  variety  of  ornaments  to  the  women. 

September  18th,  made  sail  for  China,  and  anchored  in  Macao  Roads  the 
9th  of  November,  where  being  joined,  as  already  noticed,  by  the  King 
George,  their  meeting  was  extremely  agreeable.  Captain  Portlock  was 
very  much  surprised  in  Canton  with  his  old  friend  Tiaana,  from  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  who  was  no  less  pleased  at  seeing  him,  embracing  the 
captain  in  the  most  cordial  and  affectionate  manner.  As  soon  as  his 
transports  subsided,  he  asked  several  questions  concerning  the  people  of 
the  islands,  and  said  that  he  had  accompanied  Captain  Meares  hither,  who 
placed  him  under  the  immediate  care  of  Mr.  Ross,  his  first  mate,  to  whom 
he  was  much  attached. 

During  his  slay,  Tiaana  was  introduced  to  every  place  worthy  of  notice  : 
he  was  usually  dressed  in  a  cloak  and  fine  feathered  cap,  and,  to  show  that 
he  was  a  person  of  consequence,  carried  a  spear  in  his  hand.  Afterward, 
at  the  persuasion  of  Mr.  Ross,  he  wore  a  light  satin  waistcoat  and  a  pair 
of  trousers.  He  frequently  attended  places  of  public  worship,  behaving 
with  the  greatest  decorum,  and  joining  the  congregation  in  the  ceremonies 
of  kneeling  or  standing,  as  if  he  had  been  all  his  life  regularly  accustomed 
to  them.  Some  of  the  customs  of  the  Chinese  displeased  him  exceed- 
ingly, and,  during  the  voyage,  was  nearly  throwing  the  pilot  overboard  for 
some  real  or  imaginary  offence  ;  he  was,  however,  of  a  kind  disposition, 
displaying  frequent  instances  of  humanity  as  well  as  generosity.  Being 
once  at  an  entertainment,  given  by  one  of  the  captams  at  Macao,  his  com- 
passion was  strongly  excited  after  dinner  by  seeing  a  number  of  poor 
people,  in  Sampans,  crowding  round  the  vessel  and  asking  alms  ;  he  soli- 
cited his  host's  permission  to  give  them  some  food,  remarking  it  was  a 
great  shame  to  let  poor  people  want  victuals,  and  that  in  his  country  there 
were  no  beggars.  In  compliance  with  his  importunities,  the  broken  meat 
was  collected  under  his  care,  and  he  distributed  it  in  the  most  equal  and 
impartial  manner.  Tiaana  was  six  feet  two  inches  high,  exceedingly 
well  made,  but  inclined  to  corpulency  ;  he  had  a  pleasing  animated 
countenance,  fine  eyes,  and  otherwise  expressive  as  well  as  agreeable 
features.  He  was  universally  liked  ;  and,  previous  to  his  departure  for 
Atooi,  the  gentlemen  at  Canton  furnished  him  with  bulls,  cows,  sheep, 
goats,  rabbits,  turkeys,  &c.,  <fec,,  besides  all  kinds  of  seeds  which  could  be 
useful  in  his  island,  with  directions  how  to  rear  and  propagate  them. 
The  best  skins  of  their  cargo  were  disposed  of  to  the  East  India  com- 
pany for  50,000  dollars,  while  the  inferior  ones  were  sold  to  the  Chinese, 
both  vessels  receiving  in  return  cargoes  of  tea.  February  6th,  1783, 
weighed  and  made  sail  down  the  river,  quitting  Macao  finally  a  day  or 


298  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

two  afterward.  On  the  20th  saw  the  Island  of  Pulo  Sapata,  four  leagues 
distant,  and  on  the  25th  the  Islands  of  Aramba  ;  three  days  afterward 
Mr.  Lauder,  surgeon  of  the  Queen  Charlotte,  died,  having  been  ill  for  some 
time,  and  attended  by  his  brother  surgeon,  M*.  Hoggan,  of  the  King 
George.  On  the  30th  of  March  the  ships  agreed  to  separate,  and  make 
the  best  of  their  way  to  St.  Helena,  where  the  King  George  arrived  the 
13th  of  June,  and  the  Queen  Charlotte  on  the  18th.  The  former  at  length 
reached  England,  without  any  occurrence  worthy  of  remark,  on  the  22d 
of  August ;  and  the  latter  the  17th  of  September.  Nor  was  the  voyage 
unfortunate  ;  for  though  no  great  gain  was  made,  yet  nothing  was  lost, 
which,  in  a  new  commercial  speculation,  is  not  an  uncommon  occurrence. 


MONSIEUR  DE  LA  PEROUSE.— 1785-88. 

Francs  becoming  jealous  of  the  renown  acquired  by  the  English  cir- 
cumnavigators, determined  to  send  out  an  expedition  which,  in  its  scien- 
tific equipments,  should  vie  with  them  in  every  respect.  Two  fh^ps  were 
appointed  to  this  service,  the  Boassole  and  Astrolabe,  the  former  com- 
manded by  La  Perouse,  the  latter  by  M.  de  Langle,  both  captains  in  the 
navy,  and  men  of  considerable  attainments,  besides  being  assisted  by  men 
of  science  and  artists.  The  voyage  is  interesting  as  far  as  it  goes  ;  but, 
unfortunately,  the  ships,  after  quitting  Botany  Bay,  in  17S8,  have  never 
since  been  heard  of,  to  the  regret  of  all  lovers  of  science  and  humanity, 
on  account,  not  only  of  the  acquirements,  but  amiable  character  of  the 
commander. 

On  the  1st  of  August,  1785,  they  quitted  Brest,  and  on  the  13th 
reached  Madeiia;  stopping  here  three  days,  they  saw  TenerifFe  on  the 
19th,  and  on  the  16th  of  October  the  Island  of  Trinidada,  barren,  rocky, 
and  with  a  violent  surf  breaking  on  the  shores,  where  refreshments  notbein^ 
obtainable,  the  commander  steered  for  St.  Catherine's,  on  the  Brazil  coast. 

This  island  is  extremely  fertile,  producing  all  sorts  of  fruit,  vegetables, 
and  corn,  almost  spontaneously.  It  is  covered  with  trees  of  everlasting 
green,  but  they  are  so  curiously  interwoven  with  plants  and  briars,  that 
it  is  impossible  to  pass  through  the  forests  without  opening  a  path  with  a 
hatchet  ;  to  add  to  the  difficulty,  danger  is  also  to  be  apprehended  from 
snakes,  whose  bite  is  mortal.  The  habitations  are  bordering  on  the  sea. 
The  woods  are  delightfully  fragrant,  occasioned  by  the  orange  trees,  and 
other  odoriferous  plants  and  shrubs,  which  form  a  part  of  them.  But 
amid  all  these  advantages,  the  country  is  extremely  poor,  and  totally  des- 
titute of  manufactured  commodities  ;  the  peasants  are  ragged,  and  almost 
naked.  The  soil,  which  is  well  calculated  for  the  cultivation  of  sugar, 
remains  untilled,  as  they  are  too  poor  to  purchase  slaves  for  that  necessary- 
purpose.  The  whale-fishery  is  indeed  successful,  but  it  belongs  to  the 
crown,  and  is  farmed  by  a  company  at  Lisbon,  which  has  three  large 
establishments  on  the  coast.  They  kill  about  400  whales  annually,  the 
produce  of  which  is  sent  to  Lisbon  by  the  way  of  Rio  Janeiro. 

On  the  I4ih  of  January  the  navigators  struck  ground  on  the  coast  of 
Patagonia.  On  the  25th  La  Perouse  took  bearings  a  league  to  the  south- 
ward of  Cape  San  Diego,  forming  the  west  point  of  the  Straits  of  Le  Maire. 
At  three  he  entered  the  straits,  and  saw  some  breakers,  which  extended 
about  a  mile  ;  he  also  perceived  others  much  farther  in  the  offing,  which 
induced  him  to  steer  to  the  south-east  to  avoid  them.  On  the  9th  of 
February  he  was  abreast  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan.     Examining  the 


M.  DE  LA  PEROtrSE.  299 

quantity  of  provisions  he  had  on  board,  La  Perouse  discovered  he  had 
very  little  flour  and  bread  left  in  store  ;  having  been  obliged  to  leave  a 
hundred  barrels  at  Brest,  The  worms  had  also  taken  possession  of  the 
biscuits,  and  consumed  or  rendered  useless  a  fifth  part  of  them.  Under 
these  circumstances,  La  Perouse  preferred  Conception  to  the  Island  of 
Juan  Fernandez. 

The  Bay  of  Conception,  in  Chili,  is  a  most  excellent  harbour ;  the  water 
is  smooth,  and  almost  without  any  current,  though  the  tide  rises  six  feet 
three  inches.  The  new  city  of  Conception,  after  the  destruction  of  the 
old  one  by  an  earthquake,  in  1751,  was  not  resolved  on  till  1763.  The 
new  town,  which  contains  about  10,000  inhabitants,  is  the  residence  of 
the  bishop,  and  of  the  major-general,  who  governs  in  the  military  depart- 
ment. This  colony  makes  but  little  progress  in  prosperity  or  population  ; 
the  influence  of  the  government  counteracts  that  of  the  climate.  The 
productions  of  this  kingdom,  under  proper  management,  would  suffice  for 
the  food  and  manufactures  of  half  Europe,  and  yet  the  country  is  destitute 
of  commerce.  A  few  small  vessels  indeed  arrived  here  yearly  from  Lima, 
with  tobacco,  sugar,  and  some  articles  of  European  manufacture,  which 
the  natives  can  only  purchase  at  second  or  third  hand  ;  heavy  duties 
having  been  imposed  upon  them  first  at  Cadiz,  then  at  Lima,  and  after- 
ward on  their  entering  Chili.  They  can  only  give  in  exchange  wheat, 
(which  is  of  little  value,)  hides,  tallow,  and  a  few  planks  ;  so  that  the  ba- 
lance of  trade  is  always  against  Chili.  The  women  wear  a  kind  of  plaited 
petticoat,  formed  of  antique  gold  and  silver  stuffs.  These  petticoats, 
however,  are  never  summoned  upon  duty  but  on  gala-days,  and  may  be 
entailed  in  a  family,  descending,  in  regular  gradation,  from  the  grand- 
mother to  the  granddaughter.  A  small  number  of  females,  however,  are 
thus  gorgeously  habited ;  the  majority  have  barely  sufficient  to  conceal 
their  nakedness. 

At  daybreak,  on  the  15th  of-March,  La  Perouse  made  the  signal  to 
prepare  to  sail.  On  the  17th,  about  noon,  a  light  breeze  sprung  up,  with 
which  he  got  under  way.  On  the  8th  of  April,  about  noon,  they  saw 
Easter  Island.  The  Indians  were  unarmed,  except  a  few  who  had  a  kind 
of  slight  wooden  club.  Some  of  them  assumed  an  apparent  superiority 
over  the  others,  which  induced  La  Perouse  to  consider  the  former  as 
chiefs,  but  he  soon  discovered  that  these  selected  persons  were  the  most 
notorious  offenders.  Having  but  a  few  hours  to  remain  upon  the  island, 
and  wishing  to  employ  his  time  to  the  best  advantage,  La  Perouse  left 
the  care  of  the  tent,  and  other  particulars,  to  his  first  lieutenant,  M. 
D'Escures.  A  division  was  then  made  of  the  persons  engaged  in  the 
adventure  ;  one  part,  under  the  command  of  M.  De  Langle,  was  to  pene- 
trate into  the  interior  of  the  island  to  encourage  and  promote  vegetation, 
by  disseminating  seeds,  &c.,  in  a  proper  soil ;  and  the  other  division 
mdertook  to  visit  the  monuments,  plantations,  and  habitations,  within 
.he  compass  of  a  league  of  the  establishment.  The  largest  of  the  rude 
•justs  upon  one  of  the  terraces  is  fourteen  feet  six  inches  in  height,  and 
ihe  breadth  and  other  particulars  appeared  to  be  proportionate. 

A  small  part  of  this  island  is  under  cultivation.  It  is,  however,  generally 
agreed  that  three  days'  labour  of  an  Indian  will  procure  him  subsistence  for  a 
year.  From  the  ease  with  which  the  necessaries  of  life  are  procured.  La  Pe- 
rouse supposed  the  productions  of  the  earth  were  in  common.  He  was  con- 
vinced, indeed,  that  the  houses  were  common,  at  least  to  a  whole  village  or 
district.  One  of  these  habitations  near  his  tent  was  three  hundred  and  ten 
feet  ia  length,  ten  feet  in  breadth,  and  ten  feet  in  height  toward  the 


300  VOYAGIS  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

middle.  The  whole  erection  is  capable  of  containing  200  people.  It 
forms  a  kind  of  hamlet  of  itself,  but  is  totally  unfurnished.  Two  or  three 
small  houses  appear  at  a  little  distance  from  it.  La  Perouse  does  not 
pretend  to  decide  whether  the  women  are  common  to  a  whole  district, 
and  the  children  to  the  republic  :  but  he  asserts  that  no  Indian  seemed 
to  exercise  the  authority  of  a  husband  over  any  one  of  the  females.  If 
they  are  private  property,  it  is  a  kind  of  which  the  possessors  are  very  liberal. 

Returning  about  nooi  to  the  tent,  La  Perouse  found  almost  every  man 
without  either  hat  or  handkerchief ;  so  much  had  forbearance  encouraged 
the  audacity  of  the  thieves,  that  he  also  experienced  a  similar  depredation. 
An  Indian,  who  had  assisted  him  in  descending  from  a  terrace,  rewarded 
himself  for  his  trouble  by  taking  away  his  hat.  Some  of  them  had  dived 
under  water,  cut  the  small  cable  of  the  Astrolabe's  boat,  and  taken  away 
her  grapnel.  A  sort  of  chief,  to  whom  M.  De  Langle  made  a  present  of 
a  male  and  female  goat,  received  the  animals  with  one  hand,  and  robbed 
him  of  his  handkerchief  with  the  other. 

On  the  28th  of  May  they  saw  the  mountains  of  Owyhee,  covered 
with  snow,  and  afterward  those  of  Mowee,  which  are  less  elevated.  About 
150  canoes  were  seen  putting  off  from  the  shore,  laden  with  fruit  and  hogs, 
■which  the  Indians  proposed  to  exchange  for  pieces  of  iron  of  the  French 
navigators.  Most  of  them  came  on  board  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  vessels, 
but  they  proceeded  so  fast  through  the  water  that  they  filled  alongside. 
The  Indians  were  obliged  to  quit  the  ropes  thrown  them,  and,  leaping  into 
the  sea,  swam  after  their  hogs — when,  taking  them  in  their  arms,  they 
emptied  their  canoes  of  the  water,  and  resumed  their  seat. 

After  having  visited  a  village,  M.  De  Langle  gave  orders  that  six  sol- 
diers, with  a  sergeant,  should  accompany  him  :  the  others  were  left  upon 
the  beach,  under  the  command  of  M.  de  Pierrevert,  the  lieutenant  ;  to 
them  was  committed  the  protection  of  the  ship's  boats,  from  which  not  a 
single  sailor  had  landed.  The  party  re-embarked  at  eleven  o'clock  in 
very  good  order,  and  arrived  on  board  about.noon,  where  M.  de  Clonard 
had  received  a  visit  from  a  chief,  of  whom  he  had  purchased  a  cloak,  and 
a  helmet  adorned  with  red  feathers  ;  he  had  also  purchased  a  hundred 
hogs,  a  quantity  of  potatoes  and  bananas,  plenty  of  stuffs,  mats,  and 
various  other  articles.  On  their  arrival  on  board,  the  two  frigates  drag- 
ged their  anchors  ;  it  blew  fresh  from  the  south-east,  and  they  were  driving 
down  upon  the  Island  of  Morokinne,  which  was  however  at  a  sufficient 
distance  to  give  them  time  to  hoist  in  their  boats.  La  Perouse  made  the 
signal  for  weighing,  but  before  they  could  purchase  the  anchor,  he  was 
obliged  to  make  sail,  and  drag  it  till  he  had  passed  Morokinne,  to  hinder 
)iim  from  .driving  past  the  channel. 

A  fair  wind  a<:companied  the  navigators  on  their  departure  from  the 
Sandwich  Islands.  Whales  and  wild  geese  convinced  them  that  they 
were  approaching  land.  Early  in  the  morning  of  the  23d  they  descried 
it ;  a  sudden  dispersion  of  the  fog  opened  to  them  the  view  of  a  long  cham 
of  mountains  covered  with  snow.  They  distinguished  Beering's  Mount 
St.  Elias,  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America. 

While  the  navigators  were  at  the  entrance  of  a  bay,  they  were  con- 
tinually surrounded  by  the  canoes  of  the  Indians.  In  exchange  for  iron 
they  were  offered  fish  and  variety  of  skins,  as  well  as  sundry  articles  of 
dress  ;  and  the  natives  displayed  much  ability  in  their  commercial  dealings  ; 
but  iron  was  more  eagerly  coveted  than  any  other  medium  of  barter. 
They  indeed  consented  to  take  some  pewter  pots  and  plates,  but  they 
received  them  with  indifference.     Iron  was  their  favourite  metal ;  a  dag- 


M.  DE  LA  PEROUSE.  301 

get  of  it  hung  from  the  necks  of  many  of  them.  The  report  of  their 
arrival  having  spread  itself  to  the  adjacent  parts,  several  canoes  arrived, 
filled  with  otter-skins,  which  the  natives  bartered  for  knives,  hatchets, 
and  bar-iron.  The  sea  otter  is  supposed  to  be  more  common  here  than 
in  any  part  of  America.  The  Astrolabe  caught  one,  which  probably  had 
escaped  from  the  Indians,  as  it  was  severely  wounded.  It  weighed  seventy 
pounds,  and  perhaps  had  attained  its  full  growth.  The  sea  otter  is  an 
amphibious  animal,  remarkable  for  the  beauty  of  its  skin.  The  Indians  of 
Port  Frangais  call  it  skecter.  Some  naturalists  have  noticed  it  under  the 
denomination  o(  saricovicnne,  but  the  description  of  that  animal  in  Buftbn 
has  no  affinity  with  this,  which  has  no  resemblance  to  the  otter  of  Canada, 
nor  to  that  of  Europe. 

Having  taken  in  as  much  wood  and  water  as  was  required,  the  navi- 
gators esteemed  themselves  the  most  fortunate  of  men,  in  having  arrived 
at  such  a  distance  from  Europe  without  having  a  sick  person  among  them, 
or  any  one  afflicted  with  the  scurvy  ;  but  a  lamentable  misfortune  now 
awaited  them.  At  the  entrance  of  this  harbour  perished  twenty  brave 
seamen,  in  two  boats,  by  the  surf. 

On  the  30th  of  July,  at  four  in  the  afternoon.  La  Perouse  got  under 
way.  This  bay  or  harbour,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Port  des  Fran- 
<jais,  is  situated  in  58  degrees  37  minutes  north  latitude,  and  139  degrees 
50  minutes  west  longitude.  In  different  excursions,  he  says,  he  found 
the  high-watermark  to  be  fifteen  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  sea.  The 
climate  of  this  coast  is  infinitely  milder  than  that  of  Hudson's  Bay,  in  the 
same  degree  of  latitude.  Pines  were  seen  of  six  feet  diameter  and  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  feet  in  height.  Vegetation  is  vigorous  during  three  or  four 
months  of  the  year.  The  men  wear  different  small  ornaments,  pendant 
from  the  ears  and  nose,  scarify  their  arms  and  breasts,  and  file  their  teeth 
close  to  their  gums,  using,  for  the  last  operation,  a  sand-stone  formed  into 
a  particular  shape.  They  paint  the  face  and  body  with  soot,  ochre,  and 
plumbago,  mixed  with  train-oil,  making  themselves  most  horrid  figures. 
When  completely  dressed,  their  flowing  hair  is  powdered,  and  plaited  with 
the  down  of  sea  birds  ;  but  perhaps  only  the  chiefs  of  certain  distinguished 
families  are  thus  decorated.  Their  shoulders  are  covered  with  a  skin,  and 
the  rest  of  the  body  remains  naked,  except  the  head,  on  which  is  generally 
worn  a  little  straw-hat,  plaited  with  great  taste  and  ingenuity.  Sometimes, 
indeed,  the  head  is  decorated  with  two  horned  bonnets  of  eagles'  feathers. 
Their  head-dresses  are  extremely  various,  the  grand  object  in  view  being 
only  to  render  themselves  terrible,  that  they  may  keep  their  enemies  in 
awe.  Some  Indians  have  skirts  of  otter-skins.  A  great  chief  wore  a 
shirt  composed  of  a  tanned  skin  of  the  elk,  bordered  by  a  fringe  of  beaks 
of  birds,  which,  when  dancing,  hnitated  the  noise  of  a  bell ;  a  common 
dress  among  the  savages  of  Canada  and  other  nations  in  the  eastern  parts 
of  America.  The  passion  of  these  Indians  for  gaming  is  astonishing,  and 
they  pursue  it  with  great  avidity.  The  sort  of  play  to  which  they  are 
most  devoted,  is  a  certain  game  of  chance  :  out  of  thirty  pieces  of  wood, 
each  distinctly  marked  like  the  French  dice,  they  hide  seven  ;  each  plays 
in  successign,  and  he  who  guesses  nearest  to  the  whole  number  marked 
upon  the  seven  is  the  winner  of  the  stake,  which  is  usually  a  hatchet  or  a 
piece  of  iron. 

At  length,  after  a  very  long  run,  on  the  1 1  th  of  September,  at  three  in 
the  afternoon,  the  navigators  got  sight  of  Fort  Monterey,  and  two  three- 
masted  vessels  which  lay  in  the  road.  The  commander  of  these  two  ships 
having  been  informed,  by  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  of  the  probable  arrival 

28 


302  VOYAGES  ROtJND  THE  WORLD. 

of  the  tv/o  French  frigates,  sent  them  pilots  in  the  course  of  the  night. 
Loretto,  the  only  presidency  of  Old  California,  is  situated  on  the  east  coast 
of  this  peninsula,  and  has  a  garrison  of  fifty-four  troopers,  who  furnish 
detachments  to  fifteen  missions  ;  the  duties  of  which  are  performed  by 
Dominician  friars.  About  four  thousand  Indians,  converted  and  residing 
in  these  fifteen  parishes,  are  the  sole  produce  of  the  long  labours  of  the 
different  religious  orders  which  have  succeeded  each  other.  A  small 
navy  was  established  by  the  Spanish  government  in  this  port,  under  the 
orders  of  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  consisting  of  four  corvettes  of  twelve 
guns,  and  one  goletta.  They  are  destined  to  supply  with  necessaries  the 
presidencies  of  North  California  ;  and  they  are  sometimes  despatched  as 
packet-boats  to  Manilla,  when  the  orders  of  the  court  require  the  utmost 
expedition. 

The  company  were  received  with  all  possible  poHteness  and  respect : 
the  president  of  the  missions,  in  his  sacerdotal  vestment,  with  the  holy 
water  in  his  hand,  waited  to  receive  them  at  the  entrance  of  the  church, 
which  was  splendidly  illuminated,  as  on  their  highest  festivals  .  he  then 
conducted  them  to  the  foot  of  the  high  altar,  where  Tc  Deum  was  sung 
in  thanksgivings  for  their  arrival.  Before  they  entered  the  church  they 
passed  a  range  of  Indians  :  the  parish  church,  though  covered  with  straw, 
is  neat,  and  decorated  with  paintings  copied  from  Italian  originals.  A 
picture  of  Hell  is  there  represented,  in  which  the  imagination  of  Callot  is 
absolutely  exceeded  ;  but  the  senses  of  new  converts  must  be  struck  with 
the  most  lively  impressions.  A  representation  of  Paradise,  placed  opposite 
to  that  of  Hell,  is  supposed  to  produce  less  effect  on  them.  The  Indians, 
as  well  as  the  missionaries,  rise  with  the  sun,  and  devote  an  hour  to 
prayers  and  mass,  during  which  time  a  species  of  boiled  food  is  prepared 
for  them  :  it  consists  of  barley-meal,  the  grain  of  which  has  been  roasted 
previous  to  its  being  boiled.  It  is  cooked  in  the  centre  of  the  square,  in 
three  large  kettles.  This  repast  is  called  alole  by  the  Indians,  who  con- 
sider it  as  delicioBS  ;  it  is  destitute  of  salt  and  butter,  and  must  con- 
sequently be  insipid.  The  women  have  little  more  to  attend  to  than  their 
housewifery,  their  children,  and  the  roasting  and  grinding  of  several  grains ; 
the  latter  operation  is  long  and  laborious,  as  they  employ  no  other  means 
than  that  of  crushing  it  in  pieces  with  a  cyhnder  upon  a  stone. 

The  converted  Indians  preserve  those  ancient  usages  which  are  not 
prohibited  by  their  new  religion  ;  the  same  cabins,  games,  and  dresses. 
The  dress  of  the  richest  consists  of  an  otter-skin  cloak,  to  cover  their 
loins,  and  descend  below  the  groin  :  the  most  indolent  are  satisfied  with  a 
simple  piece  of  linen  cloth,  furnished  by  the  mission  to  conceal  their 
nakedness  ;  a  cloak  of  rabbit-skin,  tied  under  the  chin,  serves  as  a  veil 
for  their  shoulders  ;  the  rest  of  the  body  remains  absolutely  naked,  except 
the  head,  which  is  sometimes  ornamented  with  hats  of  straw,  curiously 
matted  or  plaited.  The  women  have  cloaks  of  deer-skin,  tanned  ;  those 
of  the  missions  make  a  small  bodice,  with  sleeves  of  the  same  material. 
This,  with  a  small  apron  of  rushes,  and  a  petticoat  of  stag-skin,  which 
descends  to  the  middle  of  the  leg,  is  the  whole  of  their  apparel.  Girls 
under  the  age  of  nine  years  have  only  a  simple  girdle,  and  boys  are  com- 
pletely naked. 

The  Indians  of  the  rancheries,  or  independent  villages,  are  accustomed 
to  paint  their  bodies  red  and  black  when  they  are  in  m.ourning  ;  but  the 
missionaries  have  prohibited  the  former,  though  they  tolerate  the  latter, 
these  people  being  singularly  attached  to  their  friends.  The  ties  of  family 
are  less  regarded  among  them  than  those  of  friendship  :  the  children  show 


M.  DE  LA  PEROUSE.  303 

no  filial  respect  to  the  father,  having  been  obliged  to  quit  his  cabin  as  soon 
as  they  were  able  to  procure  their  own  subsistence. 

A  Spanish  commissary  at  Monterey,  named  M.  Vmcent  Vassadrey  Vega, 
brought  orders  to  the  governor  to  collect  all  the  otter-skins  of  his  missions 
and  presidencies,  government  having  reserved  to  itself  the  exclusive  com- 
merce of  them  ;  and  M.  Fages  assured  La  Perouse  that  he  could  annually 
furnish  twenty  thousand  of  them.  The  Spaniards  were  ignorant  of  the 
importance  of  this  valuable  peltry  till  the  publication  of  the  voyages  of 
Captain  Cook  :  that  excellent  man  has  navigated  for  the  general  benefit 
of  every  nation  ;  his  own  enjoys  only  the  glory  of  the  enterprise,  and  that 
of  having  given  him  birth. 

New  California,  though  extremely  fertile,  cannot  boast  of  haying  a  single 
settler  ;  a  few  soldiers,  married  to  Indian  women,  who  dwell  in  the  forts, 
or  who  are  dispersed  among  the  different  missions,  constituting  the  whole 
Spanish  nation  in  this  district  of  America.  The  Franciscan  missionaries 
are  principally  Europeans  ;  they  have  a  convent  in  Mexico.  The  viceroy 
IS  now  the  sole  judge  of  all  controversies  in  the  different  missions.  Don 
Bernardo  Galves  having  united  all  the  powers,  Spain  allows  four  hundred 
piasters  to  each  missionary,  two  of  which  are  appropriated  to  a  parish  : 
eupernumeraries  receive  no  salary. 

On  the  evening  of  the  22d  everything  was  onboard,  and  leave  had  been 
taken  of  the  governor  and  missionaries.  On  the  morning  of  the  24th  they 
sailed.  On  the  3d  of  November  the  frigates  were  surrounded  with  nod- 
dies, terns,  and  man-of-war  birds  ;  and  on  the  4th  they  made  an  island 
which  bore  west.  This  small  island  is  little  more  than  a  rock  of  about 
600  toiscs  in  length.  Not  a  tree  is  to  be  seen  on  it,  but  a  great  deal  of 
grass  is  visible  on  the  top  ;  the  rock  is  much  disfigured  by  the  excrement 
of  various  birds  ;  the  extremities  of  it  are  perpendicular  like  a  wall,  and 
the  sea  broke  around  tt  with  such  violence  as  to  render  it  impossible  to 
land.  La  Perouse  named  it  Isle  Necker.  About  an  hour  past  one 
in  the  morning  La  Perouse  saw  breakers  at  two  cables'  length  ahead  of 
the  ship  ;  the  sea  being  so  smooth,  the  sound  of  them  was  hardly  heard  ; 
the  Astrolabe  perceived  them  at  the  same  time,  though  at  a  greater  dis- 
tance than  the  Boussole  ;  both  frigates  instantly  hauled,  with  their  heads 
to  the  south-east.  La  Perouse  gave  orders  for  sounding ;  they  had  nine 
fathoms,  roeky  bottom  :  soon  after  ten  and  twelve  fathoms,  and  in  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  got  no  ground  with  sixty  fathoms.  They  just  escaped 
the  most  imminent  danger  to  which  navigators  can  be  exposed. 

The  Island  of  Assumption,  to  which  the  Jesuits  have  attributed  six 
leagues  of  circumference,  from  the  angles  now  taken,  was  reduced  to  half, 
and  the  highest  point  is  about  two  hundred  toises  above  the  level  of  iho 
Bea.  A  more  horrid  place  cannot  be  conceived.  It  was  a  perfect  cone, 
ns  black  as  a  coal,  and  very  mortifying  to  behold,  after  having  enjoyed,  in 
imagination,  the  cocoa  nuts  and  turtles  expected  to  be  found  in  some  one 
Df  the  Marianne  Islands.  La  Perouse  did  not  mean  to  touch  at  the 
Bashees,  having  before  been  often  visited,  and  having  nothing  particularly 
interesting.  Having  determnied  the  position,  he  continued  his  course 
toward  China  ;  and  on  the  1st  of  January,  1787,  found  bottom  in  sixty 
Fathoms  ;  a  number  of  fishing  boats  surrounded  him  the  next  day.  On 
ihe  2d  of  January  our  navigators  made  the  White  Rock.  In  the  evening 
ihey  anchored  to  the  northward  of  Ling  ting  Island,  and  the  following 
iay  in  Macao  Road.  Macao,  situate  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tigris,  is  capable 
*f  receiving  a  sixty-four  gun  ship  into  its  road,  at  the  entrance  of  the 
fypa  ;  and  in  its  port,  below  the  city,  ships  of  700  tons  half  laden.     Tho 


304  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

entrance  of  this  port  is  defended  by  a  fortress  consisting  two  batteries  and 
tiiree  small  forts.  The  Portuguese  limits  extend  no  farther  than  about  a 
league  from  the  city  ;  they  are  bounded  by  a  wall,  and  guarded  by  a  few 
soldiers  under  a  mandarin.  This  mandarin  is,  indeed,  the  real  governor 
of  Macao,  and  the  person  to  whom  the  Chinese  owe  obedience.  He  has 
not  the  privilege  of  sleeping  within  the  enclosure  of  the  limits,  yet  he  may 
visit  the  place,  inspect  the  custom-houses,  &c.  And  on  these  occasions 
the  Portuguese  must  salute  him  with  five  guns.  But  no  European  is 
permitted  to  set  a  foot  on  the  Chinese  country  beyond  the  wall ;  an  at- 
tempt of  that  kind  would  subject  any  person  to  the  mercy  of  the  Chinese  ; 
for  such  an  indiscretion  large  sums  might  be  demanded  of  him,  or  he  might 
suffer  detention  as  a  prisoner.  Some  of  the  officers  of  the  frigates  wan- 
tonly exposed  themselves  to  this  risk  ;  but  it  fortunately  happened  that  no 
serious  consequences  arose  from  their  levity.  The  Viceroy  of  Goa 
appoints  all  the  military  and  civil  officers  at  Macao.  The  governor  and 
the  senators  are  nominated  by  him.  He  has  lately  appointed  the  garrison 
to  consist  of  180  Indian  seapoys  and  120  militia;  the  soldiers  are  armed 
with  staves,  the  officer  only  being  permitted  to  wear  a  sword  ;  but  on  no 
occasion  to  use  it  against  a  Chinese.  If  a  robber  of  that  nation  is  detected 
in  breaking  open  a  door,  or  purloining  any  effects,  he  must  not  be  arrested 
without  the  greatest  precaution  ;  if  a  soldier,  in  his  own  defence,  should 
unfortunately  kill  him,  he  is  delivered  over  to  the  governor,  and  hanged 
in  the  market-place.  But  if  a  Chinese  kill  a  Portuguese,  he  is  examined 
by  the  judges  of  his  own  nation,  who  make  a  pompous  parade  of  fulfilling 
all  the  formalities  of  justice,  but  always  connive  at  the  evasion  of  it.  The 
Portuguese,  however,  have  lately  made  a  spirited  effort,  which  reflects 
honour  on  them.  A  seapoy  having  killed  a  Chinese,  they  shot  him  them- 
selves in  the  presence  of  the  mandarin,  and  would  not  submit  the  decision 
of  the  aflfair  to  those  of  his  own  country. 

The  climate  of  the  road  of  Typa  is,  at  this  season  of  the  year,  precari- 
ous ;  most  of  the  crews  were  afflicted  with  colds,  accompanied  with  a 
fever  ;  which  yielded  to  the  salutary  temperature  of  the  Island  of  Luconia, 
when  they  approached  it  on  the  15th  of  February.  Wanting  wood,  which 
he  knew  was  dear  at  Manillia,  La  Perouse  came  to  a  resolution  of  re- 
maining twenty-four  hours  at  Marivella  to  procure  some,  and  early  the 
next  morning  all  the  carpenters  of  the  two  frigates  were  sent  on  shore 
with  the  long-boats  ;  the  rest  of  the  ships'  companies,  with  the  yawl,  were 
reserved  for  a  fishing  party  ;  but  they  were  unsuccessful,  as  they  fojnd 
nothing  but  rocks  and  very  shallow  water. 

On  the  28th  the  navigators  came  to  an  anchor  in  the  Port  of  Cavete, 
in  three  fathoms,  at  two  cables'  length  from  the  town.  Cavete,  situate 
three  leagues  to  the  south-west  of  Manilla,  was  formerly  a  place  of  impor- 
tance. It  has  now  the  commandant  of  the  arsenal,  a  confiator,  a  few  other 
officers,  and  150  men  in  garrison.  The  other  inhabitants  consist  of 
Mulattoes  or  Indians  employed  at  the  arsenal,  and,  with  their  numerous 
families,  form  a  population  of  about  4000,  including  the  city  and  suburb 
of  Saint  Roch.  There  are  two  parishes,  and  three  convents  of  men.  The 
Jesuits  had  a  handsome  house  here,  which  is  now  in  the  hands  of  govern- 
ment.    The  whole  place  is  now  almost  a  heap  of  ruins. 

Manilla  is  erected  -on  the  bay  which  also  bears  its  name,  and  lies  at  the 
mouth  of  a  river,  being  one  of  the  finest  situations  in  the  world  ;  all  the 
necessaries  of  life  may  be  procured  thepj  in  abundance,  and  on  reasonable 
terms  ;  but  the  cloths  and  other  manufactures  of  Europe  are  extrava- 
gantly dear.     The  great  possessions  of  the  Spaniards  in  America  have  not 


M.  DE  LA  PEROUSE.  305 

¥ermitted  the  government  to  attend  minutely  to  the  Philippines.  La 
•erouse  confidently  asserts,  that  a  great  nation,  without  any  other  colony 
than  the  Philippines,  which  would  establish  a  proper  government  there, 
might  view  all  the  European  settlements  in  Africa  and  America  without 
envy  or  regret.  These  islands  contain  about  3,000,000  of  inhabitants, 
and  that  of  Luconia  consists  of  about  a  third  of  them.  These  people 
seem  not  inferior  to  Europeans  ;  they  cultivate  the  land  with  skill,  and 
among  them  have  ingenious  goldsmiths,  carpenters,  joiners,  masons,  black- 
smiths, &c.  La  Perouse  says  he  has  visited  them  at  their  villages,  and 
found  them  affable,  hospitable,  and  honest.  The  Spaniards  indeed  speak 
contemptuously  of  them  ;  but  the  vices  they  attribute  to  the  Indians  may 
with  more  propriety  be  placed  to  the  government  established  among  them. 
Coffee,  sugar-canes,  cotton,  and  indigo,  grow  there  without  cultivation, 
and  it  is  generally  believed  that  their  spices  would  not  be  inferior  to  those 
of  the  Moluccas  ;  a  general  liberty  of  commerce  for  all  nations  would 
command  a  sale  which  would  encourage  the  cultivation  of  them  all ;  and 
a  moderate  duty  on  all  articles  exported  would  soon  defray  the  expenses 
that  government  might  sustain. 

On  the  9th  of  April,  according  to  the  French  reckoning,  and  the  lOth 
as  the  Manillese  reckon,  our  navigators  sailed  and  got  to  the  northward  of 
the  Island  of  Luconia.  On  the  21st  they  made  the  Island  of  Formosa, 
and  experienced,  in  the  channel  which  divides  it  from  that  of  Luconia, 
(Bome  very  violent  currents.  On  the  22d  they  set  Lamy  Island,  at  the 
fioulh-west  point  of  Formosa,  about  three  leagues  distance.  The  tack 
they  then  stood  on  conveyed  them  upon  the  coast  of  Formosa,  near  the 
entrance  of  the  bay  of  Old  Fort,  Zealand,  where  the  city  of  Tayv/an,  the 
capital  of  that  island,  is  seated.  Having  been  informed  of  the  revolt  of 
that  Chinese  colony,  and  that  an  army  of  20,000  men,  under  the  santog 
of  Canton,  had  been  despatched  against  it,  La  Perouse  resolved  to  sacri- 
fice a  few  days  to  learn  the  particulars  of  this  event.  Only  one  man  could 
be  prevailed  on  to  come  on  board  ;  whose  fish  were  instantly  purchased 
at  his  own  price,  to  induce  him  to  give  a  favourable  account  of  our  navi- 
gators, should  he  venture  to  acknowledge  that  he  had  communicated  with 
them.  No  person  could  guess  at  the  meaning  of  any  of  the  answers 
given  by  the  fisherman  to  the  questions  which  had  been  proposed  to  them. 
The  whole  of  the  next  day  a  dead  calm  occurred,  in  mid-channel,  be- 
tween the  Bashee  Islands  and  those  of  Botol  Tabacoxima.  It  is  probable 
that  vessels  might  provide  themselves  in  this  island  with  provision,  wood, 
and  water.  La  Perouso  preserved  the  name  of  Kumi  Island,  which  Father 
Gambd  gives  it  in  his  chart.  In  the  night  of  the  25th  our  navigators 
passed  the  strait  of  Corea,  sounding  very  frequently  ;  and  as  this  coast 
appeared  more  eligible  to  follow  than  that  of  Japan,  they  approached 
within  two  leagues  of  it,  and  shaped  a  course  parallel  to  its  direction. 
On  the  27th  they  made  the  signal  to  bear  up  and  steer  east,  and  soon 
perceived,  in  the  north-north-east,  an  island  not  laid  down  upon  any  chart, 
at  the  distance  of  about  twenty  leagues  from  the  coast  of  Corea.  He 
named  it  Isle  Dagelet,  from  the  name  of  the  astronomer,  who  first  dis- 
covered it.     The  circumference  is  about  three  leagues. 

On  the  30th  of  May  La  Perouse  shaped  his  course  east  toward  Japan, 
and  on  the  2d  of  June  saw  two  Japanese  vessels,  one  of  which  passed 
within  hail  of  him.  It  had  a  crew  of  twenty  men,  all  habited  in  blue  cas- 
socks resembling  those  worn  by  French  priests.  This  vessel  wets  about 
100  tons  burthen,  and  had  a  single  high  mast  stepped  in  the  middle.  Tha 
Astrolabe  hailed  her  as  she  passed,  but  neither  the  question  nor  the  answer 

2G* 


30G  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

was  comprehended.  She  continued  her  course  to  the  southward,  to  give 
the  earliest  intelligence  of  two  foreign  vessels  having  appeared  in  seas 
where  no  European  navigator  had  ever  ventured.  At  different  times  of 
the  day  seven  Chinese  vessels,  of  smaller  construction,  were  seen,  which 
were  better  calculated  to  encounter  bad  weather. 

During  the  seventy-five  days,  since  our  navigators  sailed  from  Manilla, 
they  had  run  along  the  coasts  of  Quelpert  Island,  Corea,  and  Japan  ;  but 
as  these  countries  were  inhabited  by  people  inhospitable  to  strangers,  they 
did  not  attempt  to  visit  them.  They  were  extremely  impatient  to  recon- 
noitre this  land,  and  it  was  the  only  part  of  the  globe  which  had  escaped 
the  activity  of  Captain  Cook.  The  geographers  who  had  drawn  the  strait 
of  Tessoy,  erroneously  determined  the  limits  of  Jesso,  of  the  Company's 
Land,  and  of  Staten  Island  ;  it  therefore  became  necessary  to  terminate 
the  ancient  discussions  by  indisputable  facts.  The  latitude  of  Bale  de 
Ternai  was  the  same  as  that  of  Port  Acqueis,  though  the  description  of 
it  is  very  different.  The  plants  which  France  produces  carpeted  the 
whole  of  this  soil.  Roses,  lilies,  and  all  European  meadow-flowers  were 
beheld  at  every  step.  ^  Pine  trees  embellished  the  tops  of  the  mountains  ; 
and  oaks,  gradually  diminishing  in  strength  and  size  toward  the  sea,  adorn- 
ed the  less  elevated  parts.  Traces  of  men  mere  frequently  perceived  by 
the  havoc  they  had  made.  By  these,  and  many  other  corroborating 
circumstances,  the  navigators  were  clearly  of  opinion,  that  the  Tartars 
approach  the  borders  of  the  sea,  when  invited  thither  by  the  season  for 
fishing  and  hunting  ;  that  they  assemble  for  those  purposes  'along  the 
rivers,  and  that  the  mass  of  people  reside  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  to 
attend  to  the  multiplication  of  their  flocks  and  herds.  M.  de  Langle,  with 
several  other  officers  who  had  a  passion  for  hunting,  endeavoured  to  pur- 
sue their  sporf,  but  without  success  ;  yet  they  imagined  that,  by  silence, 
perseverance,  and  posting  themselves  in  ambush  in  the  passes  of  the  stags 
and  bears,  they  might  be  able  to  procure  some  of  them.  This  plan  was 
determined  on  for  the  next  day,  but,  with  all  their  address  and  manage- 
ment, it  proved  abortive.  It  was  therefore  generally  acknowledged  that 
fishing  presented  the  greatest  prospect  of  success.  Each  of  the  five  creeks 
in  the  Bale  de  Ternai  afforded  a  proper  place  for  hauling  the  seine,  and 
was  rendered  more  convenient  by  a  rivulet,  near  which  they  established 
their  kitchen.  They  caught  plenty  of  trout,  salmon,  cod-fish,  harp-fish, 
plaice,  and  herrings. 

On  the  4th,  at  three  in  the  morning,  there  was  a  fine  clear  sky,  and  the 
navigators  saw.  upon  their  right  beam,'  at  the  distance  of  two  miles,  in 
the  west-north-west,  a  great  island  into  which  a  river  discharged  itself. 
The  country  resembled  that  at  Bale  de  Ternai,  and,  though  three  degrees 
more  to  the  northward,  the  4)roductions  of  the  earth  differed  very  little 
from  it.  M.  de  Vaujuas,  who  had  been  despatched  in  one  of  the  boats, 
took  away  one  of  the  elk-skins,  but  not  without  leaving  in  exchange  for 
it  some  hatchets  and  other  iron  instruments  of  infinitely  more  value. 
That  officer's  representation,  nor  that  of  the  naturalists,  did  not  encourage 
La  Perouse  to  continue  any  longer  in  this  bay,  on  which  he  thought 
proper  to  bestow  the  name  of  Bale  de  Suffren. 

At  eight  in  the  morning  of  the  7th,  he  made  an  island  which  seemed 
of  great  extent ;  he  supposed,  at  first,  thai  this  was  SegaUen  Island,  the 
south  part  of  which  some  geographers  had  placed  two  degrees  too  far  to 
the  northward.  The  aspect  of  this  land  was  extremely  different  from  that 
«5f  Tartary  :  nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  barren  rocks,  the  cavities  of  which 
retained  the  snow.     To  the  highest  of  the  mountains  La  Perouse  gavo 


M.  DE  LA  PEROUSE.  307 

the" appellation  of  Peak  Lamanon.  M.  de  Langle,  who  had  come  to  anchor, 
came  instantly  on  board  his  ship,  having  already  hoisted  out  his  long-boat 
and  small  boats.  He  submitted  to  La  Perouse  whether  it  would  not  be 
proper  to  land  before  night,  in  order  to  reconnoitre  the  country,  and  gather 
some  necessary  information  from  the  inhabitants.  By  the  assistance  of 
their  glasses,  they  perceived  some  cabins,  and  two  of  the  islanders  hasten- 
ing toward  the  woods. 

Our  navigators  were  successful  in  making  the  natives  comprehend  that 
they  requested  a  description  of  their  country,  and  that  of  the  Mantchous  ; 
one  of  the  old  sages  rose  up,  and,  with  great  perspicuity,  pointed  out  the 
most  essential  and  interesting  particulars  with  the  end  of  his  staff.  His 
sagacity  in  guessing  the  meaning  of  the  questions  proposed  to  him  was 
astonishing,  though,  in  this  particular,  he  was  surpassed  by  another  islan- 
der of  about  thirty  years  of  age.  The  last-mentioned  native  informed  our 
navigators  that  they  had  a  commercial  intercourse  with  the  people  who  in- 
habited the  banks  of  Segalien  River,  and  he  distinctly  marked,  by  strokes 
of  a  pencil,  the  number  of  days  it  required  for  a  canoe  to  sail  up  the  river 
to  the  respective  places  of  their  general  traffic.  The  bay  in  which  they 
lay  at  anchor  was  named  Bale  de  Langle,  as  Captain  de  Langle  was  the 
first  who  discovered  it,  and  first  landed  on  its  shore.  They  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  the  day  in  visiting  the  country  and  its  inhabitants.  They  were 
surprised  to  find  among  a  people  composed  of  hunters  and  fishermen,  who 
were  strangers  to  the  cultivation  of  the  earth,  and  without  flocks  or  herds, 
such  gentle  manners  and  such  a  superiority  of  intellect.  The  attention 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Baie  de  Langle  was  attracted  by  the  arts  and 
manufactures  of  the  French  :  they  judiciously  examined  them,  and  de- 
bated among  themselves  the  manner  of  fabricating  the  several  articles. 
They  were  not  unacquainted  with  the  weaver's  shuttle  ;  a  loom  of  their 
construction  was  brought  to  France,  whence  it  appeared  that  their  methods 
of  making  linens  were  similar  to  those  of  the  Europeans  ;  but  the  thread 
of  it  is  formed  of  the  bark  of  the  willow-tree.  ThoAjgh  they  do  not  cul- 
tivate the  soil,  they  convert  the  spontaneous  produce  of  it  to  the  most 
useful  and  necessary  purposes. 

At  daybreak,  on  the  4th  of  July,  La  Perouse  made  the  signal  for  getting 
under  way  ;  early  on  the  19th  he  saw  the  land  of  an  island  from  north- 
east by  north,  as  far  as  east-south-east,  but  so  thick  a  fog  prevailed  that 
none  of  the  points  could  be  particularly  discovered.  At  four  the  fog,  in 
a  great  degree,  dispersed,  and  the  navigators  took  bearings  of  the  lands 
astern,  to  them  to  the  north  by  east.  The  bay,  which  is  tlffi  best  in  which 
he  had  anchored  since  his  departure  from  Manilla,  he  named  Baie 
d'Estaing.  M.  de  liangle,  who  first  landed  on  the  island,  found  the  islan- 
ders assembled  round  three  or  four  canoes,  laden  with  smoked  fish  :  he 
was  there  informed  that  the  men  who  composed  the  crews  of  the  canoes 
were  Mantchous,  and  had  quitted  the  banks  of  the  Segalien  River  to  be- 
come purchasers  of  these  fish.  In  the  corner  of  the  island,  within  a  kind 
of  circus  planted  with  stakes,  each  surmounted  v/ith  the  head  of  a  bear, 
the  bones  of  animals  lay  scattered.  As  these  people  use  no  fire-arms,  but 
engage  the  bears  in  close  combat,  their  arrows  being  only  capable  of 
wounding  them,  this  circus  might  probably  be  intended  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  certain  great  exploits.  Having  entertained  conjectures  relative 
to  the  proximity  of  the  coast  of  Tartary,  La  Perouse  at  length  discovered 
that  his  conjectures  were  well-founded  ;  for  when  the  horizon  became  a 
little  more  extensive,  he  saw  it  perfectly.  In  the  evening  of  the  22d  he 
came  to  an  anchor  in  thirty-seven  fathoms,  about  a  league  from  the  land. 


308  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

He  was  then  abreast  of  a  small  river,  to  the  northward  of  which  he  saw 
a  remarkable  peak  ;  its  base  is  on  the  shore,  and  its  summit  on  all  sides 
preserves  a  regular  form.  La  Perouse  bestowed  on  it  the  title  of  Peak 
la  Martiniere. 

On  the  28th,  in  the  evening,  our  navigators  were  at  the  opening  of  a 
bay  which  presented  a  safe  and  convenient  anchorage.  M.  de  Langle 
reported  to  La  Perouse  that  there  was  excellent  shelter  behind  four 
islands  ;  he  had  landed  at  a  village  of  Tartars,  where  he  was  kindly  re- 
ceived, and  where  he  discovered  a  watering  place  abounding  with  the 
most  limpid  element.  From  M.  de  Langle's  report,  La  Perouse  gave 
orders  to  prepare  for  anchoring  at  the  bottom  of  the  bay,  which  was 
named  Bale  de  Castris. 

La  this  bay  the  French  navigators  first  discovered  the  use  of  the  circle 
of  lead  or  bone,  which  these  people  and  the  inhabitants  of  Segalien 
Island  wear  on  the  thumb  like  a  ring ;  it  greatly  assists  them  in  cutting 
and  stripping  the  salmon  with  a  knife,  which  is  always  hanging  to  their 
girdle.  Their  village  was  built  upon  low  marshy  land,  which  must  doubt- 
less be  uninhabited  during  the  winter ;  but  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
gulf  another  village  appeared  on  a  more  elevated  situation.  It  was 
seated  at  the  entrance  of  a  wood,  and  contained  eight  cabins,  larger  and 
better  constructed  than  the  first.  Not  far  from  these  cabins,  they  visited 
three  yourts,  or  subterranean  houses.  They  were  sufficiently  capacious  to 
accommodate  the  inhabitants  of  the  whole  eight  cabins  during  the  severity 
of  the  inclement  season.  On  the  borders  of  this  village  several  tombs  pre- 
sented themselves,  which  were  larger  and  more  ingeniously  fabricated  than 
the  houses ;  each  of  them  contained  three,  four,  or  five  biers,  decorated  wiih 
Chinese  stuffs,  some  pieces  of  which  were  brocade.  Bows,  arrows,  and  the 
other  most  esteemed  articles  of  these  people,  were  suspended  in  the  interior 
of  these  monuments,  the  wooden  door  of  which  was  closed  by  a  bar,  sup- 
ported at  each  end  by  a  prop. 

The  women  are  wrapped  in  a  large  robe  of  nankeen,  or  salmon-skins, 
curiously  tanned,  descending  as  low  as  the  ancle-bone,  sometimes  embel- 
lished with  a  border  of  fringe  manufactured  of  copper,  and  producing 
sounds  like  those  of  httle  bells.  Those  salmon  which  furnish  a  covering 
for  the  fair,  weigh  thirty  or  forty  pounds,  and  are  never  caught  in  summer  ; 
those  which  were  taken  by  the  French  visiters  did  not  exceed  three  or 
four  pounds  in  weight ;  but  that  disadvantage  was  fully  compensated  by 
the  extraordinary  number  and  the  extreme  delicacy  of  their  flavour. 

On  the  2d  of  August  La  Perouse  sailed  with  a  light  breeze."  Segalien 
Island  terminating  in  a  point,  a  distant  horizon  of  movmtains  was  no  longer 
seen  ;  many  circumstances  announced  that  he  was  approaching  its  southern 
extremity,  and  that  the  peak  was  upon  another  island.  On  this  supposi- 
tion, which  was  realized  the  next  day,  the  anchor  was  let  go  in  the 
evening,  as  the  calm  rendered  it  necessary  to  anchor  at  the  south  point 
of  Segalien  Island.  This  point,  which  was  named  Cape  Chillon,  is 
situated  in  45  degrees  57  minutes  north  latitude,  and  140  degrees  34 
minutes  east  longitude  :  it  terminates  this  island,  which  from  north  to 
south  is  of  immense  extent,  separated  from  Tartary  by  a  channel  termi- 
nated by  sand-banks  to  the  northward,  between  which  no  passage  for 
ships  is  to  be  found.  This  island  is  Oku-Jesso.  Chica  Island,  abreast 
of  our  navigators,  divided  by  a  channel  from  that  of  Segalien,  and  from 
Japan  to  the  Strait  of  Sangaar,  is  the  Jesso  of  the  Japanese,  extending 
to  the  south  as  far  as  the  Strait  of  Sangaar.  The  chain  of  the  Kurile 
mountains  is  more  to  the  eastward,  and,  with  Jesso  and  Oku-Jesso,  forms 


M.  DE  LA  PEROUSE.  309 

a  8ca  which  communicates  with  that  of  Ochotsk.  The  persons  of  the 
islanders,  which  were  seen  m  Crillon  Bay,  were  well-sized,  strong,  and 
vigorous  ;  their  features  were  expressive,  and  their  beards  descended  to 
their  breast ;  their  arms,  necks,  and  backs,  were  also  covered  with  a  pro- 
fusion of  hair.  Their  middle  stature  is  supposed  to  be  about  an  inch 
lower  tkan  that  of  the  French.  Their  skm  is  tawny,  Uke  that  of  the 
Algerenes  and  other  nations  on  the  coast  of  Barbary. 

On  the  17th  they  approached  Staten  Island,  of  which  they  had  a  per- 
fect view.  On  the  19th  Cape  Troun  was  perceived  to  the  southward, 
and  Cape  Uries  to  the  south-east  by  cast,  its  proper  direction,  according 
to  the  Dutch  chart :  their  situations  could  not  possibly  have  been  deter- 
mined with  more  precision  by  modern  navigators.  On  the  20th  saw  the 
Company's  Island,  and  reconnoitred  the  Strait  of  Uries,  though  it  was 
very  foggy,  and  ran  along  the  south  coast  of  the  Company's  Island,  at  the 
distance  or  three  or  four  leagues  :  it  appeared  to  be  barren,  without  trees 
or  verdure,  and  even  without  inhabitants.  On  the  29th,  after  a  series  of 
foggy  weather,  our  navigators  reconnoitred  Mareckan  Island,  considered 
by  some  as  the  hrst  of  the  southern  Kuriles  ;  its  extent  is  about  ten 
leagues  from  north-east  to  south-west,  and  each  extremity  is  terminated 
by  an  eminence,  a  peak  or  volcano  rising  in  the  middle.  On  the  5th  of 
September,  though  the  fog  continued  obstinate,  the  navigators  crowded 
sail  in  the  midst  of  darkness,  and  at  six  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day 
it  cleared  up,  and  enabled  them  to  see  the  coast  of  Kamtschatka,  the 
whole  of  which  appeared  hideous  ;  the  eye  surveyed  with  terror  enormous 
masses  of  rocks,  which,  in  the  beginning  of  September,  were  enveloped 
in  snow.  The  next  day  they  approached  the  land,  and  found  it  agreeable 
to  behold  when  near  ;  and  the  base  of  these  enormous  summits,  crowned 
with  eternal  ice,  was  carpeted  with  the  most  beautiful  verdure,  finely 
diversified  with  trees.  In  the  evening  of  the  6th  they  made  the  entrance 
of  Awatsha  Bay,  or  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  The  light-house,  erected 
by  the  Russians  on  the  east  point  of  the  entrance,  was  not  kindled  du- 
ring the  night ;  as  an  excuse  for  which,  the  governor  declared,  the  next 
day,  that  all  their  efforts  to  keep  it  burning  had  been  ineffectual ;  the 
wind  had  constantly  extinguished  the  flames,  which  was  only  sheltered 
by  four  planks  of  wood,  very  indifferently  cemented. 

The  government  of  Kamtschatka  had  been  materially  changed  since 
the  departure  of  the  English,  and  was  now  only  a  dependency  of  that 
of  Ochotsk.  These  particulars  were  communicated  to  our  navigators  by 
Lieutenant  Kaborof,  governor  of  the  harbour  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul, 
having  a  sergeant  and  forty  soldiers  under  his  command.  M.  de  Lessops, 
who  acted  as  interpreter,  and  who  perfectly  understood  the  Russian  lan- 
guage, wrote  a  letter,  in  La  Perouse's  name,  to  the  governor  of  Ochotsk, 
to  whom  La  Perouse  also  wrote  in  French  himself.  He  told  him  that  the 
narrative  of  Cook's  last  voyage  had  spread  abroad  the  fame  of  the  hospitality 
of  the  Kamtschadale  government ;  and  he  flattered  himself  that  he  should 
be  as  favourably  received  as  the  English  navigators,  as  his  voyage,  like 
theirs,  was  intended  for  the  general  benefit  of  all  maritime  nations. 

In  the  midst  of  their  labours  our  navigators  devoted  intervals  to  plea- 
sure, and  engaged  in  several  hunting  parties  on  the  rivers  Awatsha  and 
Paratounka,  expecting  to  be  able  to  shoot  a  few  rein-deer,  bears,  or 
other  quadrupeds,  inhabitants  of  that  climate.  They  were  obliged,  how- 
ever, to  content  themselves  with  a  few  ducks  or  teal,  an  inferior  sort  of 
game,  which  were  considered  as  a  poor  compensation  for  their  laborious 
excursions.     But  if  their  own  endeavours  were  not  so  successful  as  their 


310  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

sanguine  expectations  had  predicted,  their  friends  among  the  Kamtscha- 
dales  made  ample  amends  for  the  disappointment.  During  their  stay 
they  had  received  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  an  elk,  four  bears, 
and  a  rein-deer,  with  such  a  quantity  of  divers  wild  fowl,  that  they  found 
it  necessary  to  distribute  a  considerable  part  of  them  among  their  crews. 
This  was  rendered  the  more  necessary,  as  they  had  been  cloyed  by  a 
superabundance  of  fish  ;  a  single  cast  of  the  net  alongside  of  the  frigates 
would  have  produced  sufficient  sustenance  for  half  a  dozen  ships  ;  but 
there  was  little  variety  of  species  ;  cod,  salmon,  herrings,  and  plaice,  were 
almost  the  only  produce  of  the  net. 

The  Kamtschadales  are  of  an  imitative  genius,  and  fond  of  adopting 
the  customs  of  their  conquerors.  They  have  already  abandoned  the 
yourts,  in  which  they  were  formerly  accustomed  to  burrow  like  badgers, 
breathing  foul  air  during  the  whole  of  the  winter.  The  most  opulent 
among  them  now  build  isbas,  or  wooden  houses,  like  those  of  the  Rus- 
sians :  they  are  divided  into  three  small  rooms,  and  are  conveniently 
warmed  by  a  brick  stove.  The  inferior  people  pass  their  winters  and 
summers  in  balagans,  resembling  wooden  pigeon-houses,  covered  with 
thatch,  and  placed  upon  the  tops  of  posts  twelve  or  thirteen  feet  high, 
to  which  the  women,  as  well  as  men,  find  a  ladder  necessary  for  their 
ascension.  But  these  latter  buildings  will  probably  soon  disappear  :  for 
the  Kamtschadales  imitate  the  manners  and  dresses  of  the  Russians.  It 
is  curious  to  see  in  their  little  cottages  a  quantity  of  cash  in  circulation  ; 
and  it  may  be  considered  as  a  still  greater  curiosity,  because  the  practice 
exists  among  so  small  a  number  of  inhabitants.  Their  consumption  of 
the  commodities  of  Russia  and  China  are  so  few,  that  the  balance  of  trade 
is  entirely  in  their  favour,  in  consequence  of  which  it  is  necessary  to  pay 
them  the  difference  in  rubles.  The  Kamtschadales,  says  La  Perouse, 
appeared  to  me  to  be  the  same  people  as  those  of  the  Bay  of  Castries, 
on  the  coast  of  Tartary  ;  they  are  equally  remarkable  for  their  mildness 
and  their  probity,  and  their  persons  are  not  very  dissimilar. 

The  approach  of  winter  now  warned  our  navigators  to  depart ;  the 
ground,  which,  on  their  arrival  on  the  7th  of  September,  was  adorned 
with  the  most  beautiful  verdure,  was  as  yellow  and  parched  up  on  the 
25th  of  the  same  month  as  in  the  environs  of  Paris  at  the  conclusion 
of  December.  La  Perouse  therefore  gave  preparatory  orders  for  their 
departure,  and  on  the  29th  got  under  way.  M.  Kasloff  came  to  take  a 
final  leave  of  him,  and  dined  on  board.  He  accompanied  him  on  shore, 
with  M.  de  Langle  and  several  officers,  and  was  liberally  entertained 
with  a  good  supper  and  a  ball. 

Signs  of  land  were  seen  on  the  18th  and  19th  of  October  ;  flights  of 
ducks,  and  other  birds  that  frequent  the  shore,  were  observed.  On  the  1st 
of  November,  after  experiencing  several  vicissitudes  of  weather,  a  great 
number  of  birds  were  seen  ;  and,  among  others,  curlews  and  plovers,  two 
species  which  are  never  observed  at  any  considerable  distance  from  land. 
On  the  5th  they  crossed  their  own  track  from  Monterey  to  Macao  ;  and 
on  the  6th  that"  of  Captain  Clerke  from  the  Sandwich  Islands  to  Kam- 
tschatka,  when  the  birds  had  entirely  disappeared.  A  heavy  swell  from  the 
east,  like  that  from  the  west  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  constantly  prevails  in 
this  vast  sea  ;  they  saw  neither  bonetas  nor  doradoes,  nor  anything  but  a 
few  flying-fish  ;  a  distressing  circumstance,  as  their  fresh  provision  was 
entirely  consumed. 

Induced  by  a  western  gale,  La  Perouse  attempted  to  reach  the  parallel 
of  Bougainville's  Navigator's  Islands,  a  discovery  due  to  the  French, 


M.  DE  LA  PEROtJSE.  311 

where  fresh  provisions  might  probably  be  procured.  On  the  6th  of 
December,  at  three  in  the  afternoon,  he  saw  the  most  easterly  island  of 
hat  archipelago,  and  stood  on  and  oflf  during  the  rest  of  the  evening 
and  night.  Meaning  to  anchor  if  he  met  with  a  proper  place,  La  Perouse 
passed  through  the  channel  between  the  great  and  the  little  islands  that 
Bougainville  left  to  the  south  ;  though  hardly  a  league  wide,  it  appeared 
perfectly  free  from  danger.  He  saw  no  canoes  till  he  was  in  the  channel, 
yet  he  beheld  several  habitations  on  the  windward  side  of  the  island,  and  a 
group  of  Indians  sitting  under  the  shade  of  cocoa  nut  trees,  who  seemed 
•delighted  with  the  prospect  afforded  by  the  frigates. 

Expecting  to  meet  with  a  more  considerable  island  farther  west,  the 
navigators  flattered  themselves  they  should  find  a  shelter,  if  not  a  port,  and 
therefore  deferred  making  more  extensive  observations  till  they  arrived  at 
that  island,  which,  according  to  M.  de  Bougainville's  plan,  they  now  ap- 
proached. At  break  of  day  they  were  surprised  not  to  see  land  to  leeward  ; 
nor  was  it  to  be  discovered  till  si.x  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  channel  being 
infinitely  wider  than  was  represented  on  the  chart  which  was  delivered 
to  La  Perouse  as  a  guide.  They  found  themselves  opposite  the  north-east 
point  of  the  Island  of  Maouna  at  five  in  the  evening.  Being  visited  by  two 
or  three  canoes,  which  came  alongside  to  exchange  hogs  and  fruit  for 
beads,  they  conceived  an  exalted  opinion  of  the  riches  of  the  island. 

Charmed  with  the  beautiful  dawn  of  the  following  morning,  La  Perouse 
resolved  to  reconnoitre  the  country,  take  a  view  of  the  inhabitants  at  their 
own  homes,  fill  water,  and  immediately  get  under  way — prudence  warning 
him  against  passing  a  second  night  at  that  anchorage,  which  M.  de  Langle 
also  thought  too  dangerous  for  a  longer  stay.  It  was  therefore  agreed 
on  to  sail  in  the  afternoon,  after  appropriating  the  morning  in  exchanging 
baubles  for  hogs  and  fruit.  At  the  dawn  of  day  the  islanders  had  sur- 
rounded the  two  frigates,  with  200  different  canoes  laden  with  provisions, 
which  they  would  only  exchange  for  beads  ;  axes,  cloth,  and  other  articles 
of  traffic  were  treated  by  them  with  contempt.  While  a  part  of  the 
crew  was  occupied  in  keeping  them  in  order  and  dealing,  the  rest  were 
despatching  empty  casks  on  shore  to  be  replenished  with  water.  Two 
boats  of  the  Boussole,  armed  and  commanded  by  Messrs.  de  Clonard  and 
Colinet,  and  those  of  the  Astrolabe,  commanded  by  Messrs.  de  Monti  and 
Bellegarde,  set  off  with  that  view  at  five  in  the  morning,  for  a  bay  at  the 
distance  of  about  a  league.  La  Perouse  followed  close  after  Messrs. 
de  Clonard  and  de  Monti,  in  his  pinnace,  and  landed  when  they  did.  It 
unfortunately  happened  that  M.  de  Langle  had  formed  a  resolution  to 
make  an  excursion  in  his  jolly-boat  to  another  creek,  at  the  distance  of 
about  a  league  from  their  watering  place  ;  from  this  excursion  a  dire  mis- 
fortune ensued.  The  creek  toward  which  the  long-boats  steered  was 
large  and  commodious  ;  these,  as  also  the  other  boats,  remained  afloat  at 
low  water,  within  half  a  pistol-shot  of  the  beach,  and  excellent  water  was 
easily  procured.  Great  order  was  observed  by  Messrs.  de  Clonard  and 
de  Monti.  A  line  of  soldiers  was  posted  between  the  beach  and  the 
natives,  who  amount  to  about  200,  including  many  women  and  children. 
They  were  prevailed  on  to  sit  down  under  cocoa  trees,  at  a  little  distance 
from  the  boats  ;  each  of  them  had  fowls,  hogs,  pigeons,  or  fruit,  and  all 
of  them  were  anxious  to  disposed  of  their  articles  without  delay,  which 
created  some  confusion. 

While  matters  were  thus  passing  with  perfect  tranquillity,  and  the  casks 
expeditiously  filling  with  water,  La  Perouse  ventured  to  visit  a  chanming 
village,  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  neighbouring  wood,  the  trees  of  which 


31^  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

were  loaded  with  delicious  fruit.  The  houses  formed  a  circle  of  about 
150  toises  in  diameter,  leaving  an  interior  open  space,  beautifully  verdant, 
and  shaded  with  trees,  which  rendered  the  air  delightfully  cool  and  re- 
freshing. Women,  children,  and  aged  men  attended  him,  and  earnestly 
importuned  him  to  enter  their  houses  ;  they  even  spread  their  finest  mats 
upon  the  floor,  decorated  with  chosen  pebbles,  and  raised  a  convenient 
distance  from  the  ground,  to  prevent  offensive  humidity.  La  Perouse 
condescended  to  enter  one  of  the  handsomest  of  these  huts,  which  was 
probably  inhabited  by  a  chief,  and  was  astonished  to  behold  a  large  cabi- 
net of  lattice-work,  in  which  as  much  taste  and  elegance  were  displayed' 
as  if  it  had  been  produced  in  the  environs  of  Paris.  This  enchanting 
country,  blessed  with  a  fruitful  soil  without  culture,  and  enjoying  a  cli- 
mate which  renders  clothing  unnecessary,  holds  out  to  these  fortunate 
people  an  abundance  of  the  most  estimable  food.  The  trees  invite  the 
natives  to  partake  of  the  bread  fruit,  the  banana,  the  cocoa  nut,  and  the 
orange  ;  while  the  swine,  fowls,  and  dogs,  which  partake  of  the  surplus 
of  these  fruits,  afford  them  a  rich  variety  of  viands.  The  inhabitants  of 
this  enviable  spot  were  so  rich,  and  entirely  free  from  wants,  that  they 
looked  with  disdain  on  the  cloth  and  iron  tendered  by  the  French  visiters, 
and  only  deigned  to  become  customers  for  beads.  Abounding  in  real 
blessings,  they  languished  only  for  superfluities. 

The  boats  of  the  Boussole  now  arrived  loaded  with  water,  and  La 
Perouse  made  every  preparation  to  get  under  way.  M.  de  Langle  at  the 
same  instant  returned  from  his  excursion,  and  mentioned  his  having  landed 
in  a  noble  harbour  for  boats,  at  the  foot  of  a  delightful  village,  and  near 
a  cascade  of  transparent  water.  He  spoke  of  this  watering  place  as 
infinitely  more  commodious  than  any  other,  and  begged  La  Perouse  to 
permit  him  to  take  the  lead  of  the  first  party,  assuring  him  that  in  three 
hours  he  would  return  on  board  with  all  the  boats  full  of  water.  .  Though 
La  Perouse,  from  the  appearance  of  things  at  this  time,  had  no  great 
apprehensions  of  danger,  he  was  averse  to  sending  boats  on  shore  with- 
out the  greatest  necessity,  especially  among  an  immense  number  of  peo- 
ple, unsupported  and  unperceived  by  thq  ships.  The  boats  put  off  from 
the  Astrolabe  at  half-past  twelve,  and  arrived  at  the  watering  place  soon 
after  one  ;  when,  to  their  great  astonishment,  M.  de  Langle  and  his 
officers,  instead  of  finding  a  large  commodious  bay,  saw  only  a  creek 
full  of  coral,  through  which  there  was  no  other  passage  than  a  winding 
channel  of  about  twenty-five  feet  wide.  When  within,  they  had  no  more 
than  five  feet  water  ;  the  long-boats  grounded,  and  the  barges  must  have 
been  in  the  same  situation  had  they  not  been  hauled  to  the  entrance  of 
the  channel  at  a  great  distance  from  the  beach.  M.  de  Langle  was  now 
convinced  that  he  had  examined  the  bay  at  high  water  only,  not  supposing 
that  the  tide  at  those  islands  rose  five  or  six  feet.  Struck  with  amaze- 
ment, he  instantly  resolved  to  quit  the  creek,  and  repair  to  that  where 
they  had  before  filled  water  ;  but  the  air  of  tranquillity  and  apparent  good 
humour  of  the  crowd  of  Indians,  bringing  with  them  an  immense  quantity 
of  fruit  and  hogs,  chased  his  first  prudent  idea  from  his  recollection. 

He  landed  the  casks  on  shore  from  the  four  boats  without  interruption, 
while  his  soldiers  preserved  excellent  order  on  the  beach,  forming  them- 
selves in  two  lines,  the  more  effectually  to  answer  their  purpose.  Instead 
of  about  200  natives,  including  women  and  children,  which  M.  de  Langle 
found  there  at  about  half-past  one,  they  were,  at  three  o'clock,  increased 
to  the  alarming  number  of  1200.  M.  de  Langle's  situation  became  every 
instant  more  embarrassing  ;  ho  found  means,  however,  to  ship  his  water, 


M.  DE  LA  PEROUSE.  313 

but  the  bay  was  almost  dry,  and  he  had  not  any  hopes  of  getting  off  the 
long-boats  till  four  in  the  afternoon.  He  and  his  detachment,  however, 
stepped  into  them,  and  took  post  in  the  bows  with  his  musket  and  mus- 
keteers, forbidding  any  one  to  fire  without  his  command  ;  which  he  knew 
would  speedily  be  found  necessary.  Stones  were  now  violently  thrown 
by  the  Indians,  who  were  up  to  their  knees  in  water,  and  surrounded  the 
long-boats,  at  the  distance  of  about  six  feet — the  soldiers,  who  were 
embarked,  making  feeble  efforts  to  keep  them  off. 

M.  de  Langle,  still  hoping  to  check  hostilities  without  effusion  of  blood, 
gave  no  orders  all  this  time  for  firing  a  volley  of  musketry  and  swivels  ; 
but  shortly  after  a  shower  of  stones,  thrown  with  incredible  force,  struck 
almost  every  one  in  the  long-boat.  M.  de  Langle  had  only  fired  two 
shots,  when  he  was  knocked  overboard,  and  massacred  with  clubs  and 
stones  by  about  200  Indians.  The  long-boat  of  the  Boussole,  commanded 
by  M.  de  Boutin,  was  aground  near  the  Astrolabe,  leaving  between  them 
a  channel  unoccupied  by  the  Indians.  Many  saved  themselves  by  swim- 
ming, who  fortunately  got  on  board  the  barges,  which  keeping  afloat, 
forty-nine  persons  were  saved  out  of  the  sixty-one,  of  which  the  party 
consisted.  M.  Boutin  was  knocked  down  by  a  stone,  but  fortunately  fell 
between  the  two  long-boats,  on  board  of  which  not  a  man  remained  in  the 
space  of  about  five  minutes.  Those  who  preserved  their  lives  by  swim- 
ming to  the  two  barges,  received  several  wounds ;  but  those  who  unhap- 
pily fell  on  the  other  side  were  instantly  despatched  by  the  clubs  of  the 
remorseless  Indians. 

The  crews  of  the  barges,  who  had  killed  many  of  the  islanders  with 
their  muskets,  now  began  to  make  more  room  by  throwing  their  water- 
casks  overboard.  They  had  also  nearly  exhausted  their  ammunition,  and 
their  retreat  was  rendered  difficult,  a  number  of  wounded  persons  lying 
stretched  out  upon  the  thwarts,  and  impeding  the  working  of  the  oara. 
To  the  prudence  of  M.  Vaujaus,  and  the  discipline  kept  up  by  M.  Mou- 
ton,  who  commanded  the  Boussole's  barge,  the  public  are  indebted  for 
the  preservation  of  the  forty-nine  persons  of  both  crews,  who  escaped.  M. 
Boutin  had  received  five  wounds  in  the  head  and  one  in  the  breast,  and 
was  kept  above  water  by  the  cockswain  of  the  long-boat,  who  had  himself 
received  a  severe  wound.  M.  Colinet  was  discovered  in  a  state  of  insensi- 
bility upon  the  grapnel-rope  of  the  barge,  with  two  wounds  on  the  head,  an 
arm  fractured,  and  a  finger  broken.  M.  Lavaux,  surgeon  of  the  Astro- 
labe, was  obliged  to  suffer  the  operation  of  the  trepan.  M.  de  Lamanon 
and  xM.  de  Langle  were  cruelly  massacred,  with  Talio,  master-at-arms  of 
the  Boussole,  and  nine  other  persons  belonging  to  the  two  crews.  M.  le 
Gobien,  who  commanded  the  Astrolabe's  long-boat,  did  not  desert  his 
post  till  he  was  left  alone  ;  when,  having  exhausted  his  ammunition,  he 
leaped  into  the  channel,  and,  notwithstanding  his  wounds,  preserved  him- 
self on  board  one  of  the  barges.  A  little  ammunition  was  afterward 
found,  and  completely  exhausted  on  the  infuriated  crowd  ;  and  the  boats 
at  length  extricated  themselves  from  their  lamentable  situation. 

At  five  o'clock  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  Boussole  were  informed 
of  this  disastrous  event ;  they  were  at  that  moment  surrounded  with 
about  100  canoes,  in  which  the  natives  were  disposing  of  their  provisions 
with  security,^ and  perfectly  innocent  of  the  catastrophe  which  had  hap- 
pened. But  they  were  the  countrymen,  the  brothers,  the  children  of 
the  infernal  assassins,  the  thoughts  of  which  so  transported  La  Perouse 
with  rage,  that  he  could  with  difficulty  confine  himself  to  the  Umits  of 
moderation,  or  hinder  the  crew  from  punishing  them  with  death. 

27 


314  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

On  the  14th  of  December  La  Perouse  stood  for  the  Island  of  Oyolava, 
which  had  been  observed  before  they  had  arrived  at  the  anchorage  which 
proved  so  fatal.  This  island  is  separated  from  that  of  Maouna,  or  of  the 
Massacre,  by  a  wide  channel,  and  vies  with  Otaheite  in  beautv,  extent, 
fertility,  and  population.  At  the  distance  of  about  three  leagues  from 
the  north-east  point,  he  was  surrounded  by  canoes,  laden  with  bread  fruit, 
bananas,  cocoa  nuts,  sugar-canes,  pigeons,  and  a  few  hogs.  The  inhabitants 
of  this  island  resemble  those  of  the  Island  of  Maouna,  whose  treachery  had 
been  so  fatally  experienced.  Some  exchanges  were  conducted  v^ith  these 
islanders  with  more  tranquilhty  and  honesty  than  at  the  Island  of  Maouna, 
as  the  smallest  acts  of  injustice  received  immediate  chastisement. 

On  the  17th  they  approached  the  Island  of  Pola,  but  not  a  single  canoe 
came  off;  perhaps  the  natives  had  been  intimidated  by  hearing  of  the 
event  which  had  taken  place  at  Maouna.  Pola  is  a  smaller  island  than 
that  of  Oyolava^  but  equally  beautiful,  and  is  only  separated  from  it  by 
a  channel  four  leagues  across.  The  natives  of  Maouna  informed  our 
visiters  that  the  Navigator's  Islands  are  ten  in  number,  viz.,  Opoun,  the 
most  easterly,  Leone,  Fanfoue,  Maouna,  Oyolava,  Calinasse,  Pola,  Skika, 
Ossamo,  and  Ouera.  Those  islands  form  one  of  the  finest  archipelagoes 
of  the  South  Sea,  and  are  as  interesting  with  respect  to  arts,  productions, 
and  population,  as  the  Society  and  Friendly  Islands,  which  the  English 
navigators  have  so  satisfactorily  described.  In  favour  of  their  moral 
characters,  little  remains  to  be  noticed  ;  gratitude  cannot  find  a  residence 
in  their  ferocious  minds  ;  nothing  but  fear  can  restrain  them  from  out- 
rageous and  inhuman  actions.  The  huts  of  these  islanders  are  elegantly 
formed  :  though  they  disdain  the  fabrications  of  iron,  they  finish  their 
work  with  wonderful  neatness,  with  tools  formed  of  a  species  of  basaltes 
in  the  form  of  an  adxe.  For  a  few  glass-beads  they  bartered  large  three- 
legged  dishes  of  wood,  so  well  polished  as  to  have  the  appearance  of 
being  highly  varnished.  They  keep  up  a  wretched  kind  of  police  ;  a  few, 
who  had  the  appearance  of  chiefs,  chastised  the  refractory  with  their 
sticks,  but  their  assumed  power  seemed  generally  disregarded  ;  any  regu- 
lations which  they  attempted  to  enforce  and  to  establish  were  trans- 
gressed almost  as  soon  as  they  were  promulgated.  Never  were  sovereigns 
80  negligently  obeyed,  never  were  orders  enforced  with  such  feeble  shadows 
of  authority. 

Imagination  cannot  figure  to  itself  more  agreeable  situations  than  those 
of  their  villages.  All  the  houses  are  built  under  fruit  trees,  which  render 
them  delightfully  cool  ;  they  are  seated  on  the  borders  of  streams  lead- 
ing down  from  the  mountains.  Though  the  principal  object  in  their 
architecture  is  to  protect  them  from  oflfensive  heat,  the  islanders  never 
abandon  the  idea  of  elegance.  Their  houses  are  sufl[iciently  spacious  to 
accommodate  several  families  ;  and  they  are  furnished  with  blinds,  which 
are  drawn  up  to  the  windward  to  prevent  the  intrusion  of  the  potent  rays 
of  the  sun.  The  natives  repose  upon  fine  comfortable  mats,  which  are 
cautiously  preserved  from  all  humidity.  Nothing  can  be  said,  by  our 
travellers,  of  the  religious  rites  of  these  natives,  as  no  morai  was  perceived 
belonging  to  them.  The  islands  are  fertile,  and  their  population  is  sup- 
posed to  be  considerable.  Opoun,  Leone,  and  Fanfoue,  are  small ;  but 
Maouna,  Oyobiva,  and  Pola,  may  be  classed  among  the  largest  and  most 
beautiful  in  the  South  Sea.  Cocoa  Island  is  lofty,  and  formed  like  a 
sugar-loaf;  it  is  nearly  a  mile  in  diameter,  covered  with  trees,  and  is 
separated  from  Traitor's  Island  by  a  channel  about  a  league  wide.  At 
eight  in  the  morning  La  Perouse  brought-to  to  the  west-south-west,  at 


M.  DE  LA  PEROTJSE.  313 

two  miles  from  a  sandy  bay  in  the  western  part  of  the  Great  Island  of 
Traitors,  where  he  expected  to  find  an  anchorage  sheltered  from  easterly 
winds.  About  twenty  canoes  instantly  quitted  the  shflre  and  approached 
the  frigates,  in  order  to  make  exchanges  :  several  of  them  were  loaded 
with  excellent  cocoa  nuts,  and  a  few  yams  and  bananas  ;  one  of  them 
brought  a  hog  and  three  or  four  fowls.  It  evidently  appeared  that  these 
Indians  had  before  some  knowledge  of  Europeans,  as  they  came  near  with- 
out fear,  traded  with  honesty,  and  never  refused  to  part  with  their  fruit 
before  they  were  paid  for  it.  They  spoke,  however,  the  same  language, 
and  the  same  ferocity  appeared  in  their  countenances  ;  their  manner  of 
tattooing  and  the  form  of  their  canoes  were  the  same,  but  they  had  not, 
like  them,  two  joints  cut  off  from  the  little  finger  of  the  left  hand  ;  two 
individuals  had,  however,  suffered  that  operation. 

On  the  27th  of  December  Vavao  was  perceived,  an  island  which  Cap- 
tain Cook  had  never  visited,  but  was  no  stranger  to  its  existence  as  one 
of  the  archipelago  of  the  Friendly  Islands  ;  it  is  nearly  equal  in  extent 
to  that  of  Tongataboo,  and  is  particularly  fortunate  in  having  no  deficiency 
of  fresh  water.  The  two  small  islands  of  Hoongatonga  are  no  more  than 
two  large  uninhabited  rocks,  which  are  high  enough  to  be  seen  at  the 
distance  of  fifteen  leagues.  Their  position  is  ten  leagues  north  of  Ton- 
gataboo ;  but  that  island  being  low,  it  can  hardly  be  seen  at  half  that  dis- 
tance. On  the  31st  of  December,  at  six  in  the  morning,  an  appearance 
like  the  tops  of  trees,  which  seemed  to  grow  in  the  water,  proved  the 
harbinger  of  Van  Diemen's  point.  The  wind  being  northerly.  La  Perouse 
steered  for  the  south  coast  of  the  island,  which  may,  without  danger,  be 
approached  within  three  musket-shots.  Not  the  semblance  of  a  hill  is  to 
be  seen  ;  a  calm  sea  cannot  present  a  more  level  surface  to  the  eye.  The 
huts  o(  the  natives  were  scattered  irregularly  over  the  fields,  and  not 
socially  collected  into  a  conversable  neighbourhood.  Seven  or  eight 
canoes  were  launched  from  these  habitations,  and  directed  their  course 
toward  the  vessels  ;  but  these  islanders  were  awkward  seamen,  and  did 
not  venture  to  come  near,  though  the  water  was  smooth,  and  no  obstacle 
impeded  their  passage.  At  the  distance  of  about  eight  or  ten  feet,  they 
leaped  overboard  and  swam  near  the  frigates,  holding  in  each  hand  a 
quantity  of  cocoa  nuts,  which  they  were  glad  to  exchange  for  pieces  of 
iron,  nails,  and  hatchets  ;  from  the  honesty  of  their  dealings  a  friendly 
intercourse  ensued  between  the  islanders  and  the  navigators,  and  thsy 
ventured  to  come  on  board. 

Norfolk  Island,  off  the  coast  of  New  South  AVales,  which  they  saw 
on  the  13th  of  January,  is  very  steep,  but  does  not  exceed  eighty  toises 
above  the  level  of  Ihe  sea.  It  is  covered  with  pines,  which  appear  to  be 
of  the  same  species  as  those  of  New  Caledonia  or  New  Zealand.  Cap- 
tain Cook  having  declared  that  he  saw  many  cabbage  trees  in  this  island, 
heightened  the  desire  of  the  navigators  to  land  on  it.  Perhaps  the  palm 
which  produces  these  cabbages  is  very  small,  for  not  a  single  tree  of 
that  species  could  be  discovered.  On  the  26th,  at  nine  in  the  morning. 
La  Perouse  let  go  the  anchor  -it  a  mile  from  the  north  coast  of  Botany 
Bay,  in  seven  fathoms  water.  An  English  lieutenant  and  a  midshipman 
were  sent  on  board  his  &hip  by  Captain  Hunter,  commander  of  the  Sirius. 
They  offered  him,  in  Captain  Hunter's  name,  all  the  services  in  his  power  : 
but  circumstances  would  not  permit  him  to  supply  them  with  provision, 
ammunition,  or  sails.  An  officer  was  despatched  from  the  French  to  the 
English  captain,  returning  thanks,  and  adding,  that  his  wants  extended 
only  to  wood  and  water,  of  which  he  should  find  plenty  in  the  bay.     The 


316  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

lournal  of  La  Perouse  proceeds  no  farther.  La  Perouse,  according  to 
his  last  letters  from  Botany  Bay,  was  to  return  to  the  Isle  of  Franc'e  in 
17S8.  For  two  years  France  in  vain  impatiently  expected  his  return; 
perhaps  the  apprehensions  of  his  countrymen  may  have  been  more  ago- 
nizing than  his  actual^  suflering  :  perhaps  he  has  been  cast  away  upon 
one  of  the  islands  of  the  South  Sea,  whence  \m  stretches  out  his  arms 
toward  his  country  for  protection.  We  have  not  now  even  the  consola- 
tion to  doubt  that  he  has  experienced  some  dreadful  calamity. 


CAPTAIN  EDWARD  EDWARDS.~1790~93. 

On  the  10th  of  August,  1790,  Captain  Edwards  was  commissioned  to 
take  the  command  of  his  majesty's  ship  Pandora,  of  twenty-four  guns 
and  160  men,  to  proceed  to  the  South  Seas  ;  in  the  first  instance,  to  call 
at  Otaheite  and  seize  the  mutineers  of  the  Bounty,  who  had  audaciously 
rebelled  against  th-ir  commander,  committed  him  with  several  others  to 
an  open  boat  in  the  midst  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  then  ran  away  with 
the  ship  to  the  above-mentioned  island  ;  and,  secondly,  to  sur\'ey  Endea- 
vour Straits,  in  order  that  the  passage  to  Port  Jackson,  New  South 
Wales,  from  India  might  be  expedited,  by  ascertaining  its  advantages  and 
dangers.  Lieutenant  Bligh's  voyage  (commander  of  the  Bounty)  not 
being  round  the  world,  it  is  not  given  in  this  work  ;  but  for  the  informa- 
tion of  the  reader,  it  may  be  proper  to  state,  that  it  was  undertaken  in 
order  to  introduce  that  great  vegetable  necessary  of  the  South  Seas,  the 
bread  fruit,  into  the  West  India  Islands,  bjfcas  many  plants  of  it  as  could 
be  conveniently  carried. 

Quitting  England,  they  touched  successively  at  TenerifFe  and  Rio  J^eiro, 
without  any  occurrence  of  consequence  but  the  illness  of  several  of  the 
crew  ;  who,  however,  recovered  as  they  approached  Cape  Horn,  where 
the  weather  was,  as  usual,  cold  and  tempestuous.  January  the  31st,  saw 
Cape  St.  Juan,  Staten,  and  New  Year's  Islands.  March  4th,  perceived 
Easter  Island  ;  on  the  16th  discovered  a  lagoon  island,  about  four  miles 
in  extent,  which  was  called  after  Lord  Ducie  ;  hgoon  islands  are  those 
which  are  little  better  than  sand-banks,  supposed  to  be  raised  by  the 
little  animals  which  form  the  coral  rocks,  with  a  lake,  or  lagoon,  of  sea 
water  in  the  centre,  and  producing  in  general  little  or  nothing  for  the 
support  of  human  life  ;  hundreds  of  these  are  found  in  the  South  Seas, 
and,  being  a  little  elevated  above  the  surface  of  the  water,  frequently  prove 
dangerous  to  shipping,  especially  in  the  night. 

Next  day  (17th)  saw  another  of  these  islands,  which  was  named  after 
Lord  Hood,  about  six  miles  long,  with  several  kinds  of  trees,  but  no  ap- 
pearance of  inhabitants.  Two  days  afterward  observed  a  third,  which 
received  the  name  of  Carysfort  Island,  after  his  lordship  ;  on  the  22d 
passed  Matei,  and  next  day  anchored  in  Matavai  Bay,  Otaheite.  Early 
in  the  morning  a  canoe  with  one  man  visited  them,  who  expressed  the 
greatest  satisfaction,  and  was  astonished  to  see  Lieutenant  Hay  ward,  (one 
of  the  Bounty  officers,)  as,  he  said,  the  mutineers  told  them  that  Captain 
BHgh  and  the  others  bad  gone  to  Whyteetakee  to  settle  along  with  Cap- 
tain Cook,  who  was  still  living  there.  Christian,  however,  chief  of  the 
mutineers,  with  nine  companions  more  attached  to  him  than  the  others, 
and  several  Otaheitean  men  and  women,  had  slipped  the  Bounty's  cable 
in  the  night,  and,  leaving  the  remaining  part  of  the  crew  on  shore,  went 
off  nobody  knew  whither. 


EDWARD  EDWARDS.  317 

Lieutenants  Corner  and  Hay  ward  were  despatched,  with  two  boats  and 
twenty-six  men,  to  the  north  side  of  tiie  island  after  the  mutineers,  four 
of  whom  in  the  meantime  voluntarily  surrendered  themselves  ;  the  boats 
returning,  reported  they  had  chased  tne  remainder  on  shore  and  taken 
their  boat,  the  men  having  proceeded  to  the  heights  ;  immediately  upon 
which  the  former  officer  was  despatched  agahist  them  by  land  with  a  party 
of  men,  by  permission  of  Otoo,  the  king;  while  Lieutenant  Hayward 
went  for  the  same  purpose  by  water,  accompanied  by  several  chiefs,  par- 
ticularly Oedidee.  An  Englishman,  named  Brown,  left  here  by  an 
American  vessel,  also  joined  the  party,  and  proved  of  considerable  service, 
having  been  twelve  months  on  the  island,  and  being  sufficiently  acquainted 
with  the  language  and  manners  of  the  natives. 

Lieutenant  Corner,  landing  at  Point  Venus,  had  several  chiefs  for  his 
guides  and  the  common  people  to  carry  his  ammunition,  having  to  cross 
a  rapid  river,  running  from  the  mountains,  and  forming  a  variety  of  curves 
and  some  cataracts  in  its  course  to  the  sea.  This  they  forded  sixteen 
times,  the  natives  displaying  on  every  occasion  much  more  personal 
strength  than  the  seamen  ;  and  occasionally  roj[fes  and  tackles  were  neces- 
sary to  ascend  some  of  the  heights.  During  a  halt,  the  officer  expressed 
a  wish  for  something  to  eat,  when  one  of  the  natives  immediately  ran  to 
a  temple,  where  meat  had  been  regularly  served  to  the  deity  of  the  place, 
and  came  back  with  a  roasted  pig,  which  had  been  offered  to  him  that  day. 
This  remarkable  instance  of  impiety  surprised  the  lieutenant ;  but  he  was 
assured  by  the  offender,  that  the  god  had  more  than  he  could  possibly 
eat !  Having  arrived  at  the  residence  of  a  great  chief,  they  were  hospi- 
tably received ;  and  in  honour  of  his  father,  then  deceased,  fired  three 
volleys  over  the  body,  the  paper  of  the  cartridges  of  which  unfortunately 
set  fire  to  some  of  its  coverings,  which,  in  the  estimation  of  these  people, 
was  almost  a  species  of  sacrilege.  In  the  meantime  Mr.  Hayward  had 
blocked  up  the  fugitives  by  water,  and,  by  the  aid  of  Tamarrah,  prince  of  the 
upper  districts,  had  scarcely  left  them  a  chance  of  escape  in  any  direction. 
•  Thus  cut  off  from  every  hope  of  assistance,  the  natives  harassing  them 
behind,  while  Mr.  Hayward  advanced  in  front,  they  took  shelter,  under 
cover  of  the  night,  in  a  hut  in  the  woods,  where  they  were  discovered 
by  Brown,  who,  creeping  to  the  place  when  they  were  asleep,  discovered 
them  to  be  Europeans  by  the  feel  of  their  feet.  Next  day  the  lieutenant 
attacked  them  ;  but,  conscious  that  no  resistance  would  be  availing,  they 
grounded  their  arms  without  opposition,  and,  under  a  strong  guard,  were 
marched  to  the  bouts  with  their  arms  tied  behind  their  backs.  A  prison 
for  their  reception  was  built  on  the  after-part  of  the  quarter-deck,  in  order 
that  no  communication  should  take  place  between  them  and  the  ship's 
company.  Several  of  the  natives,  it  seems,  were  their  friends  ;  some  of 
the  mutineers  had  married  the  daughters  of  neighbouring  chiefs  ;  and  at 
length  a  conspiracy  was  formed  to  cut  the  ship's  cables  and  allow  her  to 
drift  upon  the  rocks,  when  they  would  not  only  release  their  friends,  but 
enjoy  the  plunder  of  the  wreck.  In  this  scheme  neither  the  king  nor 
any  of  his  brothers  or  friends  participated  ;  one  of  them,  named  Orapai, 
gave  the  first  intimation  of  it,  and  they  all  behaved  otherwise  in  the  most 
friendly  and  obliging  manner.  The  prisoners  were  daily  visited  by  their 
wives  and  offspnngs,  who  displayed  surprising  grief  and  attachment  to 
their  husbands,  the  scene  of  their  meetings  being  truly  melancholy  and 
affecting.  By  these  faithful  partners  they  were  likewise  supplied,  during 
their  stay,  with  every  delicacy  of  the  country. 

On  the  30th  Captain  Edwards  received  a  visit  from  King  Otoo  and  his 
27* 


S18  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

two  queens,  one  of  whom  was  a  coarse  woman,  about  thirty  years  of  age , 
the  other  a  delicate  one,  not  more  than  sixteen  ;  they  all  slept  together, 
and  seemed  to  be  on  very  friendly  terms  ;  presents  of  hogs,  bananas,  and 
cocoa  nuts,  accompanied  their  majesties.  Next  day  a  grand  heava,  or 
play,  was  ordered,  for  the  entertainment  of  the  English  OiHcers  at  Point 
Venus  ;  a  band  of  music  attended  from  the  beach  to  conduct  them  to  the 
spot  where  the  king  and  his  retinue  were  in  waiting ;  a  ring  was  formed 
and  the  entertainment  began,  which  consisted  of  singing,  dancing,  and 
posture-making,  very  little  of  which  could  be  rendered  intelligible  to 
their  visiters.  Being  now  ready  for  sea,  the  natives  expressed  the  strong- 
est regret  at  their  departure,  cutting  their  heads  and  breasts  with  shells 
in  token  of  grief.  They  had  promised  to  take  several  to  England ;  but 
finding,  on  farther  inquiry,  that  every  man  in  England  must  labour  hard 
for  the  bread  he  eats,  the  indolent  Otaheiteans,  too  lazy  for  this,  declined 
visiting  such  a  country.  King  Otoo  also,  with  his  wives,  wished  to  make 
the  same  excursion,  but  was  persuaded  from  it  by  his  brother,  his  services 
being  wanted  in  the  approaching  war.  He  desired,  however,  as  well  as 
his  chiefs,  to  be  remembered,  in  an  especial  manner,  to  his  good  friend 
King  George. 

May  8th,  passed  York  Island,  near  to  Otaheite,  under  the  government 
of  Matuara,  brother  and  deputy  of  Otoo ;  it  is  about  twelve  miles  in 
circumference.  On  the  three  following  days  exainined  Huaheine,  Ulietea, 
Otaha,  and  Bolabola,  for  the  other  body  of  mutineers,  but  in  vain.  At 
the  latter  they  were  visited  by  Tatahoo,  the  king ;  the  inhabitants  are 
more  warlike  than  any  of  their  neighbours,  who  are  much  afraid  of  their 
prowess,  so  that  the  name  of  a  Bolabola  man  is  always  a  terror  to  the 
others.  A  tender,  about  the  size  of  a  Gravesend-boat,  fitted  up  at  Ota- 
heite, accompanied  the  Pandora,  commanded  by  one  of  her  masters' 
mates,  with  seven  men.  On  the  19th  made  Whyteetakee,  discovered  by 
Captain  Bligh  ;  one  of  the  natives  recollected  Mr.  Hay  ward  in  the  Bounty  : 
and  a  spear  was  purchased,  of  the  most  exquisite  workmanship  seen  in 
any  of  the  islands.  The  22d,  made  Palmerston's  Island,  and,  to  their 
surprise,  found  a  yard  and  some  spars  marked  Bounty,  but  no  other  trace 
of  the  mutineers.  Here  the  jolly-boat  having  left  the  ship,  and  the 
weather  coming  on  thick  immediately,  she  was  never  afterward  seen  nor 
heard  of,  with  her  crew,  though  several  days  were  occupied  in  the  search 
by  the  ship  and  other  boats.  June  6th,  saw  an  island,  which  was  called 
after  the  Duke  of  York  ;  and  on  the  12th  another,  named  after  the 
Duke  of  Clarence  ;  the  former  not  inhabited,  the  latter  pretty  populous  ; 
but  no  intercourse  took  place  with  the  people.  On  the  ISth  discovered 
another  island,  of  greater  extent  than  any  yet  seen  in  these  seas,  being 
twice  the  extent  of  Otaheite  ;  the  natives  warlike,  but  fair-deahng  in  their 
intercourse  with  their  visiters.  It  was  called  Chatham's  Island.  The 
21st,  saw  another,  which  the  natives  named  Otutuelah,  about  forty  miles 
long,  with  the  people  of  which  they  traded  for  a  very  delicate  species  of 
seed-cake,  birds,  fowls,  feathers,  and  other  curiosities  ;  they  were  very 
timid  in  coming  on  board,  and  much  astonished  at  everything  they  saw. 
In  the  evening  separated  from  the  tender,  and  cruised  two  days  off  the 
spot  to  rejoin  her,  but  in  vain  ;  proceeding  eastward,  they  saw  an  island 
observed  by  Bougainville  ;  and  on  the  28th  made  the  Hapaee  Islands, 
discovered  by  Captain  Cook.  Next  day  they  anchored  in  the  road  of 
Annamooka,  one  of  the  Friendly  Islands. 

The  inhabitants  proved  such  determined  thieves,  that  noboby  durst  walk 
by  himself  without  danger  of  having  the  clothes  stripped  from  off  his 


EDWARD  £dWARDS.  319 

back.  On  the  30th,  Tatafee,-the  king  of  the  island,  paid  the  Pandora  a 
tisit.  The  women  here  are  more  masculine  than  those  of  Otaheite,  but 
have  very  amiable  countenances,  which  render  them  sufficiently  agreeable  ; 
several  handsome  girls  were  brought  for  disposal  by  their  mothers,  the 
price  being  at  first  an  axe,  but  diminishing  to  razors,  scissors,  and  nails. 
A  brisk  trade  was  carried  on  for  hogs,  the  pork  being  better  than  that  of 
Otaheite.  Several  attempts  were  made  to  plunder  the  parties  sent  out  to 
cut  wood  and  grass,  in  one  of  which  an  attempt  being  made  on  the  life 
of  Lieutenant  Corner,  he  shot  the  offender  dead  ;  these  attempts,  how- 
ever, were  not  countenanced  by  the  king  or  principal  chiefs.  His  majesty, 
on  the  contrar>-,  embarked  for  Tafoa  in  the  Pandora,  one  of  his  tributary 
islands,  the  chiefs  of  which  came  off  to  do  him  homage,  which  he  exem- 
plified by  putting  his  foot  on  their  heads  in  the  act  of  obeisance.  Con- 
tinuing the  search  for  th«  mutineers,  they  saw  on  the  14th  the  Navigator's 
Isles  of  Bougainville,  and  perceived  European  clothes  in  the  possession 
of  the  natives.  The  18th,  perceived  a  cluster  of  islands,  which  were 
called  Howe's  ;  running  down  the  north  side  they  perceived  a  fine  open 
sound,  into  which  fell  some  rivers.  The  natives  \yere  civil,  and  seem- 
ingly much  better  disposed  than  those  of  Annamooka.  On  the  23d  passed 
rilstart  Island,  as  supposed ;  and  on  the  26th  Middleburg  Island,  from 
which  a  few  refreshments  were  procured,  anchoring  soon  after  at  Anna- 
mooka, where  they  were  grieved  to  find  the  tender  had  not  yet  appeared. 
Once  more  they  proceeded  on  their  voyage,  and  on  the  7th  of  August 
made  WaUis's  Island  ;  next  day  another,  which  they  named  Greenville's 
Island,  the  men  of  which  came  off  with  hostile  intentions,  armed  with 
clubs,  which  they  flourished  in  defiance  ;  but,  amazed  at  the  size  and 
novelty  of  a  man-of-war,  fled  at  the  report  of  a  musket.  The  11th, 
passed  over  a  shoal-of  coral,  on  which  was  only  eleven  fathoms  water,  to 
their  great  astonishment  and  terror,  and  in  five  minutes  more  could  not 
find  bottom.  On  the  12th  discovered  an  island  well  wooded,  but  not  in- 
habited, which  received  the  name  of  Mitre  Island,  from  the  shape  of  a 
remarkable  promontory.  Another  small  one,  near  it,  was  called  Cherry's 
Island.  Next  day  distinguished  a  third,  named  after  Mr.  Pitt ;  on  the 
17th  found  breakers,  under  both  bows,  at  midnight ;  in  the  morning  dis- 
covered they  were  embayed  in  a  double  reef,  which  doubtless  will  soon 
be  an  island. 

Lieutenant  Comer  was  now  sent  to  look  for  a  passage  through  a  reef 
in  their  route,  and  in  the  evening  they  made  a  signal  there  was  one  ;  but 
it  was  judged  prudent,  considering  their  former  escapes,  to  wait  for  the 
morning.  The  ships  therefore  lay-to,  signals  being  made  for  the  return  of 
the  boat,  which  she  had  no  sooner  done  than,  to  the  astonishment  of  all, 
the  ship  struck  on  a  reef  at  a  moment  when,  from  the  precautions  taken, 
it  was  thought  there  was  no  danger  near  them.  All  hands  were  soon  at 
the  pumps,  the  ship  having  nine  feet  water  in  the  hold.  At  ten  o'clock 
she  beat  over  the  reef  into  fifteen  fathoms  water,  the  night  dark  and 
stormy,  the  guns  ordered  to  be  thrown  overboard,  and  a  sail  to  be  drawn 
under  her  bottom  ;  one  of  the  pum{>s,  in  addition  to  their  other  distress, 
being  rendered  useless.  The  boats  which  were  out  could  not  approach 
for  the  violent  surf ;  at  daydawn  the  water  had  gained  so  far  that  there 
was  no  possibiUty  of  saving  the  ship  ;  a  council-of-war  acquainted  the 
crew  with  this,  who  were  remarkably  obedient  and  intrepid  in  their  inces- 
sant labour  at  the  pumps ;  the  prisoners  were  now  restored  to  liberty  ; 
the  spars,  hen-coops,  and  everything  buoyant  cut  loose,  to  give  as  many 
as  possible  a  last  stake  for  their  lives.     The  water  now  rushed  ia  at  the 


320  VOTAGE#^  ROUND  THB  WORLD, 

ports,  the  ship  took  a  heel,  and  an  officer  informing  the  captain  that  an 
anchor  at  the  bow  was  already  under  water,  at  the  same  time  leaping  over 
the  quarter  into  the  water,  desiring  him  to  follow,  which  he  did.  All 
the  crew  did  the  same,  when  in  an  instant  she  took  her  last  heel  and  was 
buried  in  the  waves.  The  boats  did  all  in  their  power  to  render  assis- 
tance, but  they  could  not  save  all,  and  the  cries  of  the  drowning  were 
truly  afflicting.  When  the  sun  rose  they  saw  a  sandy  key  four  miles 
distant,  to  which  they  proceeded  ;  and,  on  musterir^  here^  thirty-five  sea- 
men and  four  prisoners  were  missing. 

Very  fortunately  a  small  barrel  of  water,  a  keg  of  wine,  some  biscuit, 
a  few  muskets  and  cartouch-boxes,  had  been  saved  ;  with  a  saw  and 
hammer,  found  in  one  of  the  boats,  tbcy  immediately  set  about  repairing 
the  whole,  to  fit  them  for  a  voyage  to  the  nearest  civilized  port ;  they 
were  four  in  number,  the  Pinnace,  I^aunch,  and  Red  and  Blue  Yawls,  to 
carry  above  100  men.  Having  examined  their  allowance,  it  was  found 
there  were  only  two  small  glasses  of  wine  and  the  weight  of  a  musket-ball 
of  bread  to  each  person  for  sixteen  days  ;  the  distance  to  Timor,  their 
nearest  port,  being  1100  miles.  No  time  was  therefore  to  be  lost.  On 
the  30th  of  August  this  httle  s<juadronput  to  sea,  the  principal  provisions 
being  in  the  Launch,  to  keep  the  boats  together.  The  Red  and  Blue 
Yawls  took  tlie  lead,  and,  examining  some  parts  of  the  shore  of  New 
Holland,  procured  a  small  supply  of  water  ;  the  natives  at  first  appeared 
friendly,  but  soon  after  let  fly  a  shower  of  arrows,  many  of  which  went 
through  oak  plank  an  inch  thick,  though  fortunately  without  wounding  any 
of  the  men.  Two  small  islands,  which  they  examined  in  vain  for  supplies, 
were  named  Plumb  and  Laforey's  Islands  ;  the  latter  being  the  last  place 
where  any  stay  was  likely  to  be  made,  every  man  had  permission  to  re- 
fresh himself  with  sleep,  but  were  soon  awoke  by  the  roaring  of  wild 
beasts.  Lieutenant  Corner  was  despatched  to  look  for  water,  and  digging 
four  or  five  feet  deep,  found  a  spring ;  a  moral,  or  buryiug-place,  was 
situated  not  far  off,  adjoining  which  were  marks  of  a  fire  recently  made, 
with  many  foot-paths  toward  it ;  whence,  from  the  bones  strewed  around 
it,  was  judged  there  had  been  some  scicrifices.  Some  of  the  party  found 
a  few  oysters,  and  all  felt  keenly  the  attacks  of  hunger  ;  wild  fruits  were 
eaten  by  several  as  soon  as  they  saw  that  the  birds  also  partook  of  them, 
a  proof  they  were  not  poisonous.  None  of  the  party  were  permitted  to 
straggle,  the  natives  being  evidently  at  no  great  distance  ;  every  vessel 
they  had  was  filled  with  water,  and  also  the  carpenter's  boots,  which,  from 
their  leaking,  was  first  used. 

September  2d,  proceeded  on  their  voyage  ;  in  the  evening  saw  a  high 
peaked  island,  which  was  called  after  Lord  Hawkesbury  ;  and,  passing 
through  a  channel  about  two  miles  wide  and  near  several  reefs,  about 
which  were  some  turtle,  which  could  not  be  caught,  entered  the  great 
Indian  Ocean.  Here  the  swell  threatened  destruction  to  their  boats,  for 
the  preservation  of  which  they  took  each  other  in  tow  ;  but  the  line  broke 
twice,  and  the  night  proving  tempestuous,  they  separated  for  a  short  time, 
but  in  the  morning  again  united.  On  the  7th  the  captain's  boat  caught  a 
booby,  which,  after  sucking  its  blood,  was  divided  into  twenty-four  shares  ; 
thirst  being  greater  than  hunger,  some  would  not  have  their  allowance  of 
bread.  Early  on  the  13th  saw  land,  for  which  the  discoverer  was  reward- 
ed with  a  glass  of  water ;  the  boats  separating,  made  toward  it,  but  for 
some  hours,  on  account  of  the  prodigious  surf,  could  not  find  a  landing 
place.  At  length  succeeding,  they  found  relief  in  a  small  supply  of  water, 
the  greatest  luxury  in  the  world  to  them  at  this  moment ;  and  a  Chines© 


EDWARD  EDWARDS.  321 

chief  coming  up,  whom  they  made  sensible  of  their  sufferings,  he  shed 
tears  at  their  distress,  and  supphed  them  with  pork,  fowls,  and  other  re- 
freshments, 30  that  they  once  more  knew  the  gratification  of  a  full  meal 
of  meat  and  drink.  This  island  was  Timor  ;  coasting  along-shore,  they 
reached  Coupang,  the  capital,  next  evening,  being  most  hospitably  received 
by  the  governor  and  principal  people,  who,  it  was  singular,  had  showed  the 
same  kindness  to  Captain  Bligh,  who  also  arrivt,d  in  an  open  boat,  that 
they  now  displayed  to  the  officers  who  had  come  in  pursuit  of  the  former's 
rebellious  seamen.  Here  they  remained  five  weeks  ;  and  on  the  6ih  of 
October  embarked  in  the  Rembang  Dutch  Indiaman,  reaching  Samaraiig, 
in  the  Island  ef  Java,  on  the  30th,  after  experiencing  some  bad  weather, 
in  which  the  English  seamen  displayed  their  superiority  over  even  the 
hardy  Dutchmen.  To  their  great  surprise,  they  found  their  tender  here, 
so  long  supposed  to  be  lost ;  Mr.  Oliver's  (the  commander)  account  was 
as  follows  : 

"  The  night  they  parted  company  the  savages  attacked  them  in  a  strong 
body  in  canoes,  and,  not  knowing  the  effects  of  fire-arms,  were  not  so  much 
daunted  as  they  otherwise  would  have  been  :  the  conflict  was  severe  ;  the 
English  seven-barrelled  pieces  made  groat  havoc  among  them  ;  but,  see* 
ing  no  missiles,  they  scarcely  knew  that  their  companions  were  killed. 
One  had  agility  enough  to  spring  over  the  boarding-netting,  and,  levelling 
a  deadly  blow  at  Mr.  Ohver,  was  shot  before  he  effected  his  purpose. 
Not  finding  the  Pandora  nest  day,  they  steered  for  Annamooka,  suilering 
extremely  for  want  of  water,  so  that  one  of  the  young  gentlemen  became 
delirious,  and  continued  so  for  some  months.  Reaching  Tafoa,  closo  to 
Annamooka,  the  natives,  notwithstanding  their  profession  of  friendship, 
attacked  them,  as  they  always  do  with  small  vefssels,  however  civU  they 
may  be  to  large  ones,  but  were  driven  off  by  fire-arms.  After  sustaining 
much  distress  and  several  encounters  with  hostile  savages,  they  made  the 
reef  between  New  Guinea  and  New  Holland,  upon  which  the  Pandora 
struck  ;  and  not  finding  any  opening  through  which  to  proceed,  boldly 
ran  against  it  and  beat  over  into  deep  water,  the  only  alternatives  being 
famnie  or  shipwreck.  From  this  peril  they  reached  a  small  Dutch  settle- 
ment, where  the  governor,  having  received  a  description  of  the  Bounty's 
men,  and  Mr.  OUver  having  no  commission,  besides,  their  little  bark  being 
evidently  of  foreign  timber,  he  believed,  with  every,  probability,  that  they 
were  the  mutineers.  He  therefore  ordered  them  under  a  guard,  but 
otherwise  acted  with  great  humanity,  and,  when  an  opportunity  offered, 
sent  them  thither." 

Samarang  is  a  pretty  town,  of  considerable  extent,  the  houses  regular 
and  handsome,  and  the  streets  terminating  with  some  public  building  or 
other,  which  has  a  pleasing  effect  to  the  eye  ;  but  the  introduction  of 
canals  rather  injures  than  improves  its  beauty  and  salubrity.  The  gover- 
norship is  second  only  to  Batavia,  and  so  lucrative,  that  the  person  who 
fills  it  is  changed  every  five  years.  A  regiment  of  the  Duke  of  Wurtem- 
berg  was  doing  duty  here  at  the  time,  from  which  Captain  Edwards  and 
his  officers  received  many  civilities.  Alligators  are  common  in  the 
neighbourhood,  and  to  those  who  bathe,  or  frequent  the  vicinity  of  the 
water,  extremely  dangerous.  The  governor  informed  them  that  one  day, 
in  hunting,  one  of  the  black  boys,  having  to  cross  a  rivulet,  was  seized 
by  one,  upon  which  he  dismounted  and  sle°w  him,  thus  saving  the  lad's  life. 

Quitting  Samarang,  they  touched  at  Batavia,  where,  and  during  a  tedi^ 
ous  passage  to  the  caps,  they  lost  several  men  by  sickness.  Here  the 
EngUsh   officers  received  every  attention   and    refreshment   after  their 


S'22  VOYAGES  ROUND  THfi  \t01lLD. 

fatigues.  Passing  St.  Helena  and  Ascension,  they  arrived,  without  any 
farther  misadventure,  at  Rotterdam,  whither  the  ship  was  bound  ;  and 
soon  after  had  the  satisfaction  of  setting  foot  once  more  on  their  native 
soil  of  England. 


CAPTAIN  G.  VANCOUVER.— 1791-95. 

NoTWrTHBTANDiNG  the  Valuable  discoveries  of  Cook,  farther  investiga- 
tion was  required  of  some  of  the  southern  regions,  with  which  view  a 
voyage  was  planned  by  his  majesty  in  autumn,  1789,  and  the  command 
destined  to  Captain  Henry  Roberts,  who  had  served  under  Captain  Cook 
in  the  last  two  voyages,  Captain  Vancouver  being  named  as  his  second  ; 
and  for  this  purpose  a  ship  of  340  tons  was  purchased,  in  a  state  nearly 
finished  ;  and  on  being  launched  was  named  the  Discovery,  and  commis- 
sioned as  a  sloop  ;  but  the  disputes  with  Spain  respecting  Nootka  Sound 
for  a  short  time  suspended  her  equipment.  These  differences  being 
terminated,  and  the  fisheries  atnd  fur  trade  of  China  being  objects  of 
material  importance,  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  send  an  officer  to  Nootka 
to  receive  from  the  Spaniards  a  formal  restitution  of  the  territories  they 
had  seized  ;  (o  survey  the  coast,  and  Obtain  every  possible  information 
of  the  rratural  and  political  state  of  the  country.  To  this  coiitmand 
Captain  Vancouver  was  now  appointed.  The  same  ship,  the  Discovery, 
was  equipped,  carrying  ten  four-pounders  and  ten  swivels,  with  130  men, 
including  officers.  Captain  Vancouver  being  captain,  Messrs.  Zechariah 
Mudge,  Peter  Puget,  and  Joseph  Baker,  lieutenants  ;  and  Joseph  Whid- 
bey,  master.  She  was  to  be  accompanied  by  the  Chatham  armed  tender, 
of  135  tons,  four  three-pounders,  six  swivels,  and  forty-five  men,  com- 
manded by  Lieutenant  W.  R.  Broughton ;  James  Hanson,  second 
lieutenant ;  and  James  Johnstone,  master.  Mr.  Archibald  Men/.ies,  a 
Surgeon  of  the  navy,  was  also  appointed  for  the  special  purpose  of  botani- 
cal research. 

On  the  5th  of  February,  1791,  the  Discovery  anchored  at  Spithead ; 
on  the  11th  of  March  proceeded  down  the  channel  to  Falmouth,  where 
she  was,  on  the  31st,  joined  by  the  Chatham.  On  the  28th  of  April  they 
made  Tenerilfe.  They  crossed  the  tropic  of  Capricorn  the  12th  of  June, 
in  25  degrees  18  minutes,  after  which  it  was  resolved  to  proceed  by  the 
Cape  of  Gootl  Hope,  whither  they  arrived  the  10th  of  July,  and  where  a 
variety  of  necessary  repairs  employed  them  till  the  1 1th  of  August.  After 
being  detained  by  contrary  winds  and  calms  till  the  1 7th,  they  then  sailed 
out  of  Simon's  Bay,  bound  for  the  coast  of  New  Holland,  and  directing 
their  course  between  the  tracks  of  Dampier  and  Marion,  over  a  space 
before  unfrequented.  On  the  27th  of  September  they  made  land,  and,  in 
latitude  35  degrees  3  minutes,  and  longitude  160  degrees  35  minutes  30 
seconds,  passed  by  a  conspicuous  promontory,  to  which  Captain  Vancouver 
gave  the  name  of  Cape  Chatham,  after  the  earl.  Other  places,  which 
they  successively  passed,  were  called  Baldhead,  Break-Sea  Island, 
Michaelmas  Island,  and  Seal  Island.  Having  gone  on  shore  to  fish,  they 
discovered  a  most  miserable  human  habitation  lately  deserted,  in  the  shape 
of  half  a  Ireehive,  which  had  been  divided  vertically  in  two  equal  parts, 
one  of  which  farmed  the  hut,  three  feet  in  height,  and  in  diameter  four 
feet  and  a  half,  constructed  of  light  twigs.  To  the  northward  they  found 
a  hi'-rh  rocky  point,  that  attained  the  name  of  Point  Possession,  from  the 
eumTnlt  of  which  they  gained  an  excellent  view  of  the  sound  and  the  ad- 


Q.  VANCOUVER.  323 

jacent  country,  possessing  a  far  more  fertile  prospect.  This  coast,  and 
the  country  seen  north-westward  of  Cape  Chatham,  was  taken  possession 
of  formally  in  the  name  of  his  majesty,  the  part  first  discovered  being 
King  George  the  Third's  Sound,  and  the  harbour  behind  Point  Posses- 
sion Princess  Royal  Harbour,  in  honour  of  her  birthday.  In  their  way 
out  of  this  harbour  they  found  a  bank  covered  with  most  delicious  oysters, 
and  thence  called  Oyster  Harbour.  Near  Princess  Royal  Harbour,  while 
the  ships'  companies  were  employed  in  wooding  and  watering,  was  dis- 
covered a  deserted  village  of  two  dozen  miserable  huts,  some  rather  better 
than  others,  evincing  the  residence  of  petty  chiefs.  Throughout  the 
whole  coast  traces  of  fire  were  perceptible.  There  were  also  seen  several 
black  swans  swimming  on  the  water  ;  but  no  smoke,  or  any  indication  of 
inhabitants. 

The  natives  appeared  to  be  a  wandering  people,  who  sometimes  made 
their  excursions  individually  ;  at  other  times  in  considerable  parties  ;  this 
was  apparent,  by  their  habitations  being  found  single  and  alone,  as  well 
as  composing  tolerably  large  villages.  Besides  the  village  they  visited, 
Mr.  Broughton  discovered  another  about  two  miles  distant  from  it,  of 
nearly  the  same  magnitude  ;  but  it  appeared  to  be  of  a  much  later  date, 
as  all  the  huts  had  been  recently  built,  and  seemed  to  have  been  very 
lately  inhabited.  The  larger  trees  in  the  vicinity  of  both  villages  had  been 
hollowed  out  by  fire,  sufficiently  to  aftbrd  the  shelter  these  people  seemed 
to  require.  Upon  stones  placed  in  the  inside  of  these  hollow  trees  fires 
had  been  made,  which  proved  that  they  had  been  used  as  habitations, 
either  for  the  inferior  of  the  party,  which  would  argue  a  degree  of  subor- 
dination among  them,  or  for  those  who  were  too  indolent  to  build  them- 
selves the  wattled  huts  before  described. 

From  this  coast  Captain  Vancouver  proceeded  to  New  Zealand,  which 
he  reached  on  the  27th  of  October,  and  anchored  in  Dusky  Bay,  when 
they  encountered  a  heavy  storm.,  the  effects  of  which  required  considerable 
repair,  particularly  of  the  Discovery.  Another  heavy  gale  occurred  on 
the  22d  and  23d,  after  which,  very  unexpectedly,  they  made  land,  namely, 
a  cluster  of  seven  craggy  islands,  the  largest  situated  in  latitude  48  de- 
grees 3  minutes,  longitude  166  degrees  20  minutes,  which  had  not  been 
seen  by  Captain  Cook.  These  sterile  rocks  Captain  Vancouver  denomi- 
nated The  Snares.  Another  new  island  was  discovered  on  the  22d  of 
December,  in  215  degrees  39  minutes.  Several  canoes  came  off  to  the 
ship,  but  the  natives  would  not  go  on  board,  while  they  used  every  solicita- 
tion to  induce  the  English  to  land.     One  at  length  ventured  on  board. 

These  people  were  evidently  of  the  Great  South  Sea  nation,  both  from 
language  and  a  similarity  to  the  Friendly  Islanders.  Two  or  three  of  them 
remained  on  board  nearly  an  hour  ;  but  so  much  was  their  attention  dis- 
tracted, that  they  could  scarcely  give  an  answer  as  to  the  name  of  iho 
island,  or  otherwise.  It  appeared  on  the  whole  that  they  called  it  Oparo, 
by  which  name  it  is  therefore  distinguished  by  Captain  Vancouver.  Tho 
tops  of  six  of  the  highest  hills  bore  the  appearance  of  fortified  places, 
resembling  redoubts  ;  having  a  sort  of  block-house,  in  the  shape  of  an 
EngUsh  glass-house,  in  the  centre  of  each,  with  rows  of  palisadoes  a  con- 
siderable way  down  the  sides  of  the  hills,  nearly  at  equal  distances. 
These,  overhanging,  seemed  intended  for  advanced  works,  and  apparently 
capable  of  defending  the  citadel  by  a  few  against  a  numerous  host  of 
assailants.  On  all  of  them  they  noticed  people,  as  if  on  duty,  constantly 
moving  about.     These  were  the  only  habitations  they  saw. 

On  the  29th  the  Discovery  reached  Otaheite,  where  they  had  been  ex- 


324  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  \VORL». 

pected  in  comsequence  of  information  by  an  English  vessel,  which  turned 
out  to  be  the  Chatham,  that  had  separated  near  Facile  Harbour,  and 
arrived  before  them.  The  Chatham,  during  her  separation,  had  seen 
several  immaterial  lands,  named  by  Mr.  Broughton  successively.  Knight's 
Island,  (the  same  as  The  Snares  of  Captain  Vancouver,)  Point  Alison, 
Mount  Patterson,  The  Two  Sisters,  and  Cape  Young.  An  island  which 
he  named  Chatham  Island,  and  the  anchorage  of  which,  in  Skirmish  Bay, 
was  43  degrees  49  minutes  latitude,  and  183  degrees  25  minutes  longitude, 
was  taken  possession  of  in  the  name  of  his  majesty.  Here,  having  gone 
on  shore,  a  number  of  the  natives  came  about,  held  a  convei-sation  by  sign* 
and  gestures,  and  readily  received  Mr.  Broughton's  presents,  but  would 
make  no  exchanges.  They  were  very  anxious  to  have  the  party  follow 
them  to  their  habitations,  but  this  was  thought  imprudent.  Nothing  would 
prevail  on  the  islanders  to  give  up  any  of  their  articles  ;  but  they  not  only 
readily  accepted,  but  carried  off  various  things  belonging  to  the  party,  and 
were  particularly  anxious  to  get  Mr.  Broughton's  fowling-piece,  which  he 
had  fired,  much  to  their  alarm.  Having,  in  order  both  lo  get  information 
and  to  procure  water,  at  length  made  signs  of  their  intention  to  accompany 
the  natives,  it  appeared  that  the  latter  had  meditated  hostility,  having 
collected  large  sticks,  swinging  them  over  their  heads,  as  if  with  an  inten- 
tion of  using  them  ;  several  of  them  likewise  had  spears.  Yet,  being  well 
armed,  Mr.  Broughton's  party  were  not  afraid,  especially  as  they  thought 
they  had  purchased  the  good  opinion  of  the  savages.  They  were,  how- 
ever, mistaken  ;  an  attack  was  made  so  violently,  that  both  Mr.  Broughton 
and  Mr.  Johnstone  were  reluctantly  obliged  to  fire,  as  did  the  gentleman 
having  the  charge  of  the  boat,  which  occasioned  the  natives  to  fly,  but  not 
before  one  of  them  had  unfortunately  perished. 

On  the  Discovery  anchoring,  she  was  surrounded  by  canoes  laden  with 
the  country  productions.  Captain  Vancouver  found  that  most  of  the 
friends  he  had  left  there  in  1777  were  dead.  Otoo,  now  called  Pomarrey, 
his  father,  brothers,  and  sisters,  Potatoo,  and  his  family,  were  the  only 
of  their  chiefs  now  living.  Captain  Vancouver  and  Mr.  Broughton  went 
on  shore  to  fix  on  an  eligible  spot  for  tents,  and  to  pay  their  respects  to  his 
Oiaheitean  majesty.  They  found  Otoo  (Pomarrey's  son,  and  now  king) 
to  be  a  boy  of  about  nine  or  ten  years  of  age.  He  was  carried  on 
the  shoulders  of  a  man,  and  was  clothed  in  a  piece  of  English  red  cloth, 
with  ornaments  of  pigeons'  feathers  hanging  over  his  shoulders.  When 
they  had  approached  within  about  eight  paces,  they  were  desired  to  stop  ; 
the  present  they  had  brought  was  exhibited  ;  and  although  its  magnitude, 
and  the  value  of  the  articles  it  contained,  excited  the  admiration  of  the 
by-standers  in  the  highest  degree,  it  was  regarded  by  this  young  monarch 
with  an  apparently  stern  and  cool  indifference.  After  some  other  cere- 
monies, a  ratification  of  peace  and  mutual  friendship  being  acknowledged 
on  both  sides,  the  different  European  articles  composing  the  present  were, 
with  some  little  form,  presented  to  Otoo  ;  and  on  his  shaking  hands  with 
them,  which  he  did  very  heartily,  his  countenance  became  immediately 
altered,  and  he  received  them  with  the  greatest  cheerfulness  and  cordiality. 

On  the  2d  day  of  January,  1792,  arrived  Pomarrey,  who  was,  to  his 
great  gratification,  saluted  with  four  guns.  With  him  came  Matooara 
Mahow,  the  reigning  Prince  of  Morea,  under  Otoo,  but  who  was  in  a  deep 
decline.  At  one  of  the  entertainments  on  board,  Pomarrey  having  drank 
a  bottle  of  undiluted  brandy,  it  threw  him  into  convulsions  ;  after  which, 
having  slept  for  an  hour,  he  was  perfectly  recovered.  Captain  Vancouver 
endeavoured  to  persuade  him  of  the  bad  consequence  of  inebriety.     The 


0.  VANCOUVfiR.  325 

chief  on  this  accused  him  of  being  a  stingy  fellow,  and  not  tio  tio,  (a  jolly 
companion.)  On  this  it  was  determined  to  give  him  his  own  way,  and 
orders  were  given  to  let  him  have  as  much  brandy  or  rum  as  he  should  call 
for,  which  had  completely  the  effect,  for  in  a  week  he  ceased  to  call  for  any. 

Pomarrey's  father,  formerly  called  Happi,  now  Taow,  also  came  on  a 
visit,  and  a  most  affectionate  interview  took  place  between  the  three  sons 
and  their  aged  and  venerable  father.  A  very  different  scene  was  after- 
ward exhibited.  It  was  announced  that  Otoo  was  approaching.  On  this 
occasion  it  became  necessary  that  the  grandfather  should  pay  homage  to 
his  grandson.  A  pig  and  a  plantain  leaf  were  instantly  procured ;  the 
good  old  man  stripped  to  the  waist ;  and  when  Otoo  appeared  in  the  front 
of  the  marquee,  the  aged  parent,  whose  limbs  were  tottering  with  the  de- 
cline of  life,  met  his  grandson,  and  on  his  knees  acknowledged  his  own 
inferiority,  by  presenting  this  token  of  submission  ;  which,  so  far  as  could 
be  discovered,  seemed  offered  with  a  mixture  of  profound  respect  and 
parental  regard.  The  ceremony  seemed  to  have  little  effect  on  the  young 
monarch,  who  appeared  to  notice  the  humiliating  situation  of  his  grand- 
sire  with  the  most  perfect  indifference  and  unconcern.  This  mode  of  be- 
haviour is,  however,  rather  to  be  attributed  to  the  force  of  education  than 
to  a  want  of  the  proper  sentiments  of  affection. 

On  the  14th  a  message  was  received  of  the  death  of  Mahow,  at  Oparree, 
which  district  was,  for  some  days,  by  a  religious  interdict,  forbidden  com- 
munication with  the  rest  of  the  island.  Mr.  Broughton,  and  a  party  of  the 
gentlemen  belonging  to  the  ships,  having  made  an  excursion  for  purchasing 
curiosities  among  the  islands,  landed  to  see  the  grand  morai,  or  tapoota- 
pootatea.  Mowree,  the  sovereign  of  Ulietea,  who  attended  them,  on  ap- 
proaching the  sacred  spot,  desired  the  party  would  stop  until  he  should 
address  the  eatooa.  Then,  seating  himself  on  the  ground,  he  began 
praying  before  a  waita,  ornamented  with  a  piece  of  wood,  indifferently 
carved,  on  which  was  placed,  for  the  occasion,  a  bundle  of  cloth  and  some 
red  feathers.  During  this  ejaculation  the  names  of  the  party  were  twice 
mentioned.  He  likewise  repeated  the  names  of  the  several  commanders 
who  had  visited  the  island  ;  together  with  those  of  "  Keene  Gorge  "  (that 
is.  King  George)  and  "Britarne,"  which  were  frequently  expressed. 
When  these  introductory  ceremonies  were  finished,  Mowree  attended  them 
to  every  part  of  the  morai,  and  explained  every  particular.  He  appeared 
to  be  well  versed  in  all  the  ceremonials  and  rites  appertaining  to  their  re- 
ligion, which  made  the  party  greatly  lament  their  want  of  a  competent 
knowledge  of  the  language,  as  they  were  unable  to  comprehend  his  mean- 
ing, except  in  a  few  common  instances. 

The  next  morning  they  were  again  honoured  by  a  visit  from  Otoo  and 
several  of  the  chiefs,  on  their  way  to  the  morai.  Soon  after  a  canoe, 
covered  with  an  awning,  was  seen  coming  from  the  westward,  paddling 
in  a  slow  and  solemn  manner  toward  the  morai,  in  which  was  the  corpse 
of  the  deceased  chief.  On  their  expressing  great  anxiety  to  see  Poraar- 
rey,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  permission  to  attend  the  burial  ceremony, 
they  were  informed  that  he  was  gone  to  the  morai,  but  would  have  no 
objection  to  their  being  present.  They  proceeded  ;  and  near  to  the  rivulet 
that  flows  by  Urripiah's  house,  they  saw  the  queen-mother,  Fier-re-te, 
and  the  widow  of  the  deceased  Mahow,  sitting  all  in  tears  ;  and,  in  the 
paroxysms  of  their  affliction,  wounding  their  heads  with  the  sharks'  teeth 
they  had  prepared  the  preceding  evening.  The  widow  had  a  small  spot 
shaved  on  the  crown  of  her  head,  which  was  bloody,  and  bore  other  evident 
marks  of  having  frequently  undergone  the  cruel  effect  of  her  despair.     The 

28 


§2^  VOYAGES  ROtJND  THE  WORlfi. 

body  of  Mahow,  wrapped  in  English  red  cloth,  was  deposited  under  an 
awning  in  a  canoe,  whose  bow  was  drawn  up  a  little  way  on  the  beach 
near  the  moral,  and  was  attended  by  one  man  only,  at  her  stern,  up  to 
middle  in  water,  to  prevent  her  driving  from  the  spot.  The  priests  con- 
tinued chanting  their  prayers,  frequently  exalting  their  voices,  until  they 
ended  in  a  very  shrill  tone.  The  address  being  ended,  they  all  rose  up 
and  proceeded  westward  along  the  shore,  followed  by  the  canoe  in  which 
was  the  corpse,  to  the  mouth  of  the  rivulet,  where  the  three  royal  ladies 
still  continued  to  mdulge  their  excessire  grief;  and,  on  perceiving  the 
canoe,  burst  forth  into  a  loud  yell  of  lamentation,  which  was  accompanied 
oy  an  accelerated  application  of  the  sharks'  teeth,  until  the  blood,  very 
freely  following,  mingled  with  their  tears.  The  canoe  entered  the  brook 
and  proceeded  toward  another  morai  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  where 
the  ceremonies  to  be  performed  on  the  body  of  the  deceased  required  such 
secrecy,  that  on  no  account  could  the  gentlemen  be  permitted  to  attend, 
although  it  was  most  earnestly  requested. 

In  consequence  of  a  message  from  Pomarrey,  Captain  Vancouver  and 
Messrs.  Broughton  and  Whidbey  went  to  Oparree,  to  assist  at  the  mourn- 
ing for  the  death  of  Mahow.  The  concern  here  of  the  relatives  was  by 
no  means  such  as  might  have  been  expected  from  their  tender  regard  to 
the  chief  when  aliv^e.  The  corpse  was  laid  on  the  tapapaoo,  which  seem- 
ed to  have  been  erected  for  the  express  purpose,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
to  the  eastward  of  the  grand  moral,  (or,  as  it  is  called,  "  tapootapootatea,") 
and  appeared  to  be  then  undergoing  the  latter  part  of  the  embalming  pro- 
cess, in  the  same  manner  as  described  by  Captain  Cook  in  the  instance 
of  Tee.  The  body  was  exposed  to  the  sun  ;  and  on  their  approach  the 
covering  was  taken  off,  which  exhibited  the  corpse  in  a  very  advanced 
state  of  putrefaction.  The  skin  shone  very  bright  with  the  cocoa  nut  oil 
with  which  it  had  been  anointed,  and  which  they  understood  was  highly 
impregnated  with  "aehigh,"  or  sweet-scented  wood.  One  of  the  arms 
and  a  leg  being  moved,  the  joints  appeared  perfectly  flexible.  The  ex- 
tremely offensive  exhalations  that  were  emitted  rendered  it  natural  to 
conclude,  that  the  whole  mass  would  soon  be  completely  decomposed  ; 
but  if  credit  may  be  given  to  their  assertions,  which  were  indubitably 
confirmed  by  the  remains  of  Tee,  and  to  which  the  captain  could  bear 
testimony,  this  will  not  be  the  case.  Pomarrey  informed  them,  the 
corpse  was  to  remain  a  month  in  this  place  ;  then  a  month  was  to  be  em- 
ployed in  its  visiting  some  of  the  western  districts  ;  after  which  it  was  to 
be  removed  to  Tiarrabou  for  another  month  ;  whence  it  was  to  be  carried 
to  Morea,  and  there  finally  disposed  with  his  forefathers  in  the  morai  of 
the  family.  In  the  course  of  a  few  months  after  its  arrival  there,  it  would 
gradually  begin  to  moulder  away,  but  by  such  very  slow  degrees,  that 
several  months  would  elapse  before  the  body  would  be  entirely  consumed. 
The  boat's  crew  were  ranged  before  the  paling  that  encompassed  the 
tapapaoo  ;  a  piece  of  red  cloth  from  them  was  given  to  the  widow,  who 
spread  it  over  the  dead  body  ;  some  volleys  were  then  fired,  and  the  cap- 
tain was  directed  to  pronounce  •'  Tera  no  oea  Mahow,"  that  is>  For  you, 
Mahow.  On  some  rain  falling,  the  body  was  taken  under  cover  and 
carefully  wrapped  up.  They  proceeded  to  an  excellent  new  house  of 
Whytooa's,  where  they  dined,  and  returned  to  Matavai  with  too  large 
hogs,  presented  on  this  mournful  occasion  by  the  widow  of  Mahow. 

A  serious  theft  of  a  large  quantity  of  linen  belonging  to  Mr.  Broughton, 
as  well  as  two  axes,  now  demanded  the  most  rigorous  inquiry.  An  addi- 
tional mortification  happened  on  the  21sc.     Towereroo,  a  Sandwich  Is- 


G.  VANCOUVER.  32? 

lander,  (brought  out  from  England  in  the  Discovery,)  had,  in  the  course 
of  the  preceding  night,  found  means  to  elope  from  the  ship.  After  much 
trouble  of  investigation,  and  some  coercion,  on  the  33d  the  three  royal 
brothers  brought  back  Towereroo,  with  a  variety  of  expiatory  presents. 
The  linen  there  appeared  now  no  prospect  of  recovering,  without  both 
losing  time  and  having  recourse  to  unpleasant  measures  ;  it  was,  there- 
fore, resolved  to  depart  without  it ;  presents  as  usual  were  distributed, 
and  the  separation  took  place  with  the  utmost  harmony. 

Omai,  it  seems,  having  died  without  children,  the  house  which  Captain 
Cook  had  built  for  him,  the  lands  th-it  were  purchased,  and  the  horse, 
which  was  still  alive,  together  with  such  European  commodities  as  re- 
mained at  his  death,  all  descended  to  Matuara,  as  king  of  the  island } 
And,  when  his  majesty  is  at  home,  Omai's  house  is  his  constant  residence. 
From  Matuara  they  learned  that  Omai  was  much  respected,  and  that  he 
frequently  afforded  great  entertainment  to  him  and  the  other  chiefs  with 
the  accounts  of  his  travels,  and  de;jcribing  the  various  countries,  objects, 
&c.,  that  had  fallen  under  his  observation  ;  and  that  he  died  universally- 
regretted  and  lamented.  His  deatli,  as  well  as  that  of  the  two  New 
Zealand  boys  left  with  him  by  Captain  Cook,  was  occasioned  by  a  dis- 
order that  is  attended  by  a  large  swelling  in  the  throat,  of  which  very  few 
recover. 

On  the  24th  of  January  the  Discovery  and  Chatham  directed  their  course 
to  the  northward,  for  the  first  time  pomting  their  heads  toward  the  grand 
object  of  the  expedition.  On  tlie  2d  of  February  passed  Owyhee,  one  of 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  were  honoured  by  a  visit  from  Tianna,  the 
personage  mentioned  in  Mr.  Meares's  voyage,  who,  since  his  return  from 
China,  had  taken  part  with  Tamaahmaah  against  Teamawheere,  and,  being 
victorious,  these  two  chiefs  had  agreed  to  share  the  government.  Tianna 
was  taken  on  board  to  go  on  to  the  leeward  islands.  Tareehooa,  who 
preferred  the  name  of  Jack,  having  been  with  Mr.  Ingram,  commanding 
an  American  ship,  laden  with  furs,  from  North-West  America,  bound  to 
Boston  by  the  way  of  China,  was  desirous  of  continuing  on  board  the 
Discovery,  and  to  proceed  the  voyage,  which,  with  consent  of  the  chief,' 
was  complied  with.  After  passing  some  desolate  islands,  the  Discovery 
anchored,  on  the  7th  of  March,  in  a  bay  called  Whykete,  south  of  the 
It-land  of  Woahoo,  on  good  and  safe  ground.  Some  of  the  inhabitants 
went  on  board,  and  were  exceedingly  orderly  and  docile,  which  appeared 
the  more  remarkable,  as  they  had  formerly  been  represented  as  the  most 
daring  and  unmanagcabfe  of  any  in  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

Their  new  ship-mate,  Jack,  became  very  useful ;  he  took  upon  him  to 
represent  tliem  in  the  most  formidable  point  of  view  to  all  his  countrymen ; 
magnifying  their  powers  and  numbers,  and  proclaiming  that  they  were  not 
traders,  such  as  they  had  been  accustomed  to  see  ;  but  Were  belonging 
to  King  George,  and  were  all  mighty  warriors.  This  being  his  constant 
discourse,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  that  his  countrymen  became  much 
intimidated  ;  and,  as  this  could  be  productive  of  no  ill  consequences,  they 
permitted  Jack  to  proceed  in  his  encomiums,  and  unanimously  agreed  it 
would  not  be  his  fault  if  they  were  not  in  high  repute  among  the  islanders. 

The  natives  having  failed  in  supplying  water  as  expected,  Captain 
Vancouver  set  sail,  on  the  8th,  for  Atooi,  where  he  understood  it  was 
to  be  had  without  difficulty.  Whyhetee  Bay  hes  in  latitude  21  degrees 
16  minutes  47  seconds,  and  longitude  202  degrees  9  minutes  37  seconds. 
Next  morning  they  made  AVhymea  Bay,  on  the  south  side  of  Atooi. 
The  inhabitants  of  this  island  behaved  in  the  same  orderly  manner,  and 


328  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

with  the  same  distant  civility  experienced  at  Woahoo,  and  gave  the  ne- 
cessary assistance  in  watering  and  other  operations.  The  land  here  was 
also  much  the  same,  and  similarly  cultivated  with  the  taro  plant.  Here 
were  found  Rowbottom,  an  Englishman,  Williams,  a  Welshman,  and  Cole* 
man,  an  Irishman,  left  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  pearls  and  sandal-wood 
for  their  master,  John  Kendrick,  an  American,  commanding  the  Lady 
Washington,  and  which  was  to  call  for  them  in  her  return  from  China,  to 
take  them  on  board  with  the  pearls  and  sandal-wood  collected.  They 
were  visited  by  two  chiefs,  No-ma-tee-he-tee  and  Too,  announcing  that 
Enemoh,  guardian  of  the  young  prince  Ta-moo-eree,  who  was  the  eldest 
son  of  Taio,  sovereign  of  this  and  the  neighbouring  islands,  together  with 
the  prince  himself,  would  b";  with  them  in  a  few  days.  They  accordingly 
came  and  behaved  with  the  utmost  propriety,  although,  from  certaii;  ap- 
pearances of  fire,  as  well  as  the  circumstance  of  a  schooner  taken  by  the 
Indians  at  Owyhee,  and  the  cautions  of  Rowbottom,  Captain  Vancouver 
had  not  been  without  suspicions  of  treachery.  Enemoh  readily  went  on 
board,  and  an  exchange  was  made  of  presents,  which,  though  liberal  on 
the  part  of  Captain  Vancouver,  did  not  give  satisfaction  ;  the  great  desire 
of  the  chief,  as  of  all  of  them,  being  to  have  fire-arms  and  ammunition, 
with  which  the  various  traders  touching  at  their  islands  had  most  impro* 
pcrly,  and  even  cruelly,  supplied  the  inhabitants. 

Wednesday,  the  14th  of  iVIarch,  the  two  ships  sailed  for  the  coast  of 
America.  On  the  17th  of  April  they  saw  land,  being  part  of  New  Albion, 
and  being  then  in  39  degrees  27  minutes  latitude,  and  236  degrees  25 
minutes  longitude.  On  the  28th  they  spoke  an  American  ship,  Columbia, 
Mr.  Robert  Gray,  commander,  of  Boston,  whence  she  had  been  absent 
eighteen  months.  On  the  29th  anchored  about  eight  miles  within  the 
entrance  of  the  supposed  Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca.  Of  course  they  made  a 
strict  investigation  of  this  passage,  and  were  satisfied  that  it  did  not  exist. 

Port  Discovery,  where  the  vessels  now  went  to  anchor,  is  a  perfectly 
safe  and  convenient  harbour,  having  its  outer  points  one  mile  and  three 
quarters  asunder,  and  situated  in  latitude  48  degrees  7  minutes,  and  longi- 
tude 237  degrees  20^  minutes.  The  country  of  New  Albion,  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood, is  of  a  rich  fertile  soil.  In  respect  to  its  mineral  productions 
no  great  variety  was  observed.  Iron  ore,  in  its  various  forms,  was  gene- 
rally found  ;  and,  from  the  weight  and  magnetic  qualities  of  some  speci- 
mens, appeared  tolerably  rich,  particularly  a  kind  that  much  resemble  the 
olood-stone.  These,  with  quartz,  agate,  the  common  flint,  and  a  great 
intermixture  of  other  silicious  matter,  (most  of  the  stones  they  met  with 
being  of  that  class,)  with  some  variety  of  calcareous,  magnesian,  and 
argillaceous  earths,  were  the  mineral  productions  generally  found. 

The  next  place  of  research  was  Admiralty  Inlet,  where  the  ships 
anchored  oflf  Restoration  Point.  The  general  information  here  is  little. 
The  natives  were  much  the  same,  equally  ill-made,  and  their  persons 
besmeared  with  oil  and  ochre,  and  a  sort  of  shinning  chaffy  mica  very 
ponderous,  and  in  colours  resembling  black-lead  ;  but  decked  more  with 
copper  ornaments,  while  they  were  not  wanting  in  acts  and  offers  of  friend- 
ship and  hospitality,  and  behaved  with  perfect  decorum  and  civility. 

About  a  dozen  of  these  friendly  people  had  attended  at  their  dinner, 
one  part  of  which  was  a  venison  pasty.  Two  of  them  expressing  a 
desire  to  pass  the  line  of  separation  drawn  between  them,  were  permitted 
to  do  so.  They  sat  down  by  the  English,  and  ate  of  the  bread  and  fish 
given  them  without  the  least  hesitation  ;  but,  on  being  oflfered  some  of 
the  venison,  they  could  not  be  induced  to  taste  it.     They  received  it  with 


G.  VANCOUVER.  329 

i» 
great  disgust,  and  presented  it  round  to  the  rest  of  the  party,  by  whom  it 
uuderweat  a  very  strict  examination.  Their  conduct  on  this  occasion  left 
no  doubt  tiiat  they  believed  it  to  be  human  flesh,  an  impression  which  it 
was  highly  expedient  should  be  done  away.  To  satisfy  them  that  it  was 
the  flesh  of  ihe  deer,  they  pointed  to  the  skins  of  the  animal  they  had  about 
them.  In  reply  to  this  they  pointed  to  each  other,  and  made  signs  that 
could  not  be  misunderstood,  that  it  was  the  flesh  of  human  beings,  and 
threw  it  down  in  the  dirt,  with  gestures  of  great  aversion  and  displeasure. 
At  length  they  happily  convinced  them  of  their  mistake  by  showing  them 
a  haunch  they  had  in  the  boat,  by  which  means  they  were  undeceived, 
and  some  of  them  ate  of  the  remainder  of  the  pie  with  a  good  appetite. 

On  Monday,  the  4th  of  June,  the  ships'  companies  were  served  a  good 
dinner,  it  bring  the  anniversary  of  his  majesty's  birth ;  on  which  day 
they  designed  to  take  formal  possession  cf  all  the  countries  they  had  lately 
been  employed  in  exploring.  Pursuing  the  usual  formalities  on  such 
occasions,  and  under  the  discharge  of  a  royal  salute  from  the  vessels,  they 
took  possession  accordingly  of  the  coast  from  that  part  of  New  Albion 
in  the  latitude  of  39  degrees  20  minutes,  and  longitude  236  degrees  26 
minutes  east,  to  the  entrance  of  this  inlet  of  the  sea,  said  to  be  the  Straits 
of  Juan  de  Fuca,  as  likewise  all  the  coast,  islands,  &c.,  by  the  name  of 
the  Gulf  of  Georgia  ;  and  the  continent  binding  the  said  gulf,  and  extending 
southward  to  the  46th  degree  of  north  latitude,  with  that  of  New  Georgia, 
in  honour  of  his  majesty. 

On  the  6th  of  June  the  Discovery  and  Chatham  sailed  from  Possession 
Sound.  Having  anchored  on  the  11  th  in  Strawberry  Bay,  so  named  from 
its  producing  that  excellent  fruit  in  abundance,  latitude  48  degrees  36 
minutes,  and  longitude  237  degrees  34  minutes,  and  there  beiug  several 
things  necessary  to  be  done,  Captain  Vancouver  and  Mr.  Paget,  in  the 
Discovery's  yawl,  and  Mr.  Whidbey,  in  the  cutter,  attended  by  the  Chat- 
ham's launch,  explored  the  neighbourhood.  As  they  were  rowing,  on 
the  22d,  for  Port  Grey,  purposing  there  to  land  and  breakfast,  they  dis- 
covered two  vessels  at  anchor  under  the  land.  They  were  a  brig  and  a 
schooner,  wearing  the  colours  of  Spanish  vessels  of  war,  most  probably 
employed  in  pursuits  similar  to  their  own  ;  and  this  idea  was  confirmed. 
These  vessels  proved  to  be  a  detachment  from  the  commission  of  Seignior 
Malaspina,  who  was  himself  employed  in  the  Philippine  Islands.  Seignior 
Malaspina  had,  the  preceding  year,  visited  the  coast,  and  these  vessels, 
his  Catholic  majesty's  brig  the  Sutil,  under  the  command  of  Seignior  Don 
D.  Galiano,  with  the  schooner  Mexicana,  commanded  by  Seignior  Don  C. 
Valdes,  both  captains  of  frigates  in  the  Spanish  navy,  had  sailed  from 
Acapulco  on  the  8th  of  March,  in  order  to  prosecute  discoveries  on  this 
coast.  From  these  gentlemen  Vancouver  understood,  that  Seignior 
Quadra,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Spanish  marine  at  St.  Bias  and 
at  California,  was,  with  three  frigates  and  a  brig,  waiting  his  arrival  at 
Nootka,  in  order  to  negotiate  the  restoration  of  those  territories  to  the 
crown  of  Great  Britain.  Their  conduct  was  replete  with  that  politeness 
and  friendship  which  characterize  the  Spanish  nation  ;  every  kind  of 
useful  information  they  cheerfully  communicated,  and  obligingly  expressed 
much  desire,  that  circumstances  might  so  concur  as  to  admit  their  respec- 
tive labours  being  carried  on  together. 

On  the  17th  of  August  they  were  suddenly  surprised  by  the  arrival  of 
a  brig  off  the  entrance  of  the  cove,  under  English  colours.  She  was  the 
Venus,  belonging  to  Bengal,  of  110  tons  burthen,  commanded  by  Mr. 
Shepherd,  last  from  Nootka,  and  bound  on  a  trading  voyage  along  these 

28* 


330  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

• 
shores.  By  him  they  received  the  pleasant  tidings  of  the  arrival  of  the 
Dasdalus  store-ship,  laden  with  a  supply  of  provisions  and  stores  for  their 
use  ;  and  he  acquainted  Mr.  Baker,  that  Seignior  Quadra  v*ras  waiting  with 
the  greatest  impatience  to  deliver  up  the  settlement  and  territories  at 
Nootka.  Mr.  Shepherd  had  brought  with  him  a  letter  from  Mr.  Thomas 
Newmaster,  of  the  Daedalus,  informing  Vancouver  of  a  most  distressing 
and  melancholy  event.  Lieutenant  Hergest,  the  commander,  Mr.  William 
Gooch,  the  astronomer,  with  one  of  the  seamen  belonging  to  the  Daedalus, 
had  been  murdered  by  the  inhabitants  of  Whoahoo,  while  on  shore  pro- 
curing water  at  that  island. 

August  19th,  they  proceeded  from  the  last  station,  namely,  Point  Men- 
zies,  in  latitude  52  degrees  18  minutes,  longitude  S33  degrees  55  minutes, 
and  on  the  28th  arrived  off  Nootka  Sound.  The  Chatham,  by  the  partial 
clearing  of  the  fog,  had  found  her  way  in  some  time  before  ;  the  Daedalus 
store-ship  and  a  small  merchant  brig  called  the  Three  Brothers,  of  Lon- 
don, commanded  by  Lieutenant  Alder,  of  the  navy,  were  also  there  at 
anchor.  Seignior  Quadra,  with  several  of  his  officers,  came  on  board  the 
Discovery  on  the  29th,  where  they  breakfasted,  and  were  saluted  with 
thirteen  guns  on  their  arrival  and  departure  ;  the  day  was  afterward  spent 
in  ceremonious  offices  of  civility,  with  much  harmony  and  festivity.  Ma- 
quinna,  the  native  chief  of  Nootka,  who  was  present  on  this  occasion,  had 
early  in  the  morning,  from  being  unknown  to  them,  been  prevented 
coming  on  board  the  Discovery  by  the  sentinels  and  the  officer  on  deck, 
as  there  was  not  in  his  appearance  the  smallest  indication  of  his  superior 
rank.  Of  this  indignity  he  had  complained  in  a  most  angry  manner  to 
Seignior  Quadra,  who  very  obligingly  found  means  to  sooth  him. 

Some  difficulties  now  occurred  in  respect  to  the  particulars  of  the  resti- 
tution ;  but,  after  written  and  verbal  correspondence,  it  was  agreed  that 
the  objections  on  both  sides  should  be  referred  to  the  respective  courts. 
Seignior  Quadra,  however,  having  thereafter  made  farther  objections,  an 
additional  correspondence  took  place  ;  but  the  Spanish  officer  insisting, 
and  being  positively  resolved  to  adhere  to  certain  principles  proposed  by 
him  as  to  the  restitution,  to  which  Captain  Vancouver  could  not  accede, 
the  latter  acquainted  him  that  he  should  consider  Nootka  as  a  Spanish 
port,  and  requested  his  permission  to  carry  on  the  necessary  employments 
on  shore,  which  he  very  politely  gave,  with  the  most  friendly  assurance 
of  every  service  and  kind  office  in  his  power. 

It  was  not  till  the  12th  of  October  that  the  Discovery  sailed  from  Nootka, 
with  the  Chatham  and  Daedalus  store-ships,  bound  to  the  southward. 
November  15th,  discovered  anchorage  in  a  most  excellent  small  bay.  The 
herds  of  cattle  and  flocks  of  sheep,  grazing  on  the  surrounding  hills,  were 
a  sight  they  had  long  been  strangers  to,  and  brought  many  pleasing  reflec- 
tions. On  hoisting  the  colours  at  sunrise,  a  gun  was  fired,  and  in  a  little 
time  afterward  several  people  were  seen  on  horse-back,  coining  from  be- 
hind the  hills  down  to  the  beach,  who  waved  their  hats,  and  made  other 
signals  for  a  boat,  which  was  immediately  sent  to  the  shore,  and  on  its 
return  they  were  favoured  with  the  company  of  a  priest  of  the  order  of 
St.  Francisco,  and  a  sergeant  in  the  Spanish  army,  to  breakfast.  The 
good  friar,  after  pointing  out  the  most  convenient  spot  for  procuring  wood 
and  water,  and  repeating  hospitable  offers,  in  the  name  of  the  fathers  of 
the  Franciscan  order,  returned  to  the  mission  of  St.  Francisco,  which  they 
understood  was  at  no  great  distance,  and  to  which  he  gave  them  the  most 
pressing  invitation. 

While  engaged  in  allotting  to  the  people  their  diflferent  employments, 


e.  VANCOUVER.  331 

some  saddled  horses  arrived  from  the  commandant,  with  a  very  cordial 
invitation,  which  was  accepted  by  the  captain  and  some  of  the  officers. 
They  rode  up  to  the  presidio,  an  appellation  given  to  their  miUtary  esta- 
blishments in  this  country,  and  signifying  a  safe-guard.  The  residence 
of  the  friars  is  called  a  mission.  The  Spanish  soldiers  composing  the 
garrison  amounted  to  thirty-five,  who,  with  their  wives,  families,  and  a 
few  Indian  servants,  composed  the  whole  of  the  inhabitants.  On  the  left 
of  the  church  is  the  commander's  house,  consisting  of  two  rooms  and  a 
closet  only,  which  are  divided  by  massy  walls,  and  communicating  with 
each  other  by  very  small  doors.  Between  these  apartments  and  the  out- 
ward wall  was  an  excellent  poultry-house  and  yard,  which  seemed  pretty 
well  stocked  ;  and  between  the  roof  and  ceilings  of  the  rooms  was  a  kind 
of  lumber  garret ;  these  were  all  the  conveniences  the  habitation  seemed 
calculated  to  afford.  On  approaching  it  they  found  his  good  lady,  who, 
like  her  spouse,  had  passed  the  middle  age  of  life,  decently  dressed,  seat- 
ed cross-legged  on  a  mat,  placed  on  a  small  square  wooden  platform  raised 
three  or  four  inches  from  the  ground,  nearly  in  front  of  the  door,  with  two 
daughters  and  a  son,  clean  and  decently  dressed,  sittino;  by  her  ;  this  being 
the  mode  observed  by  these  ladies  when  they  receive  visiters.  The 
decorous  and  pleasing  behaviour  of  the  children  was  really  admirable,  and 
exceeded  anything  that  could  have  been  expected  from  them  under  the, 
circumstances  of  their  situation,  without  any  other  advantages  than  the 
education  and  example  of  their  parents,  which,  however,  seemed  to  have 
been  studiously  attended  to,  and  did  them  great  credit. 

The  next  day  was  appointed  for  visiting  the  mission.  Accompanied 
Dy  Mr.  Menzies  and  some  of  the  officers,  and  Seignior  Sal,  the  captain 
rode  thither  to  dinner.  Its  distance  from  the  presidio  is  about  a  league, 
in  an  easterly  direction.  Its  situation  and  external  appeannce  in  a  great 
measure  resembled  that  of  the  presidio  ;  and,  like  its  neighbourhood,  the 
country  was  pleasingly  diversified  with  hill  and  dale.  The  uniform,  mild, 
and  kind-hearted  disposition  of  this  religious  order  has  never  failed  to 
attach  to  their  interest  the  affections  of  the  natives,  wherever  they  have 
sat  down  among  them  ;  this  is  a  very  happy  circumstance,  for  their  situa- 
tion otherwise  would  be  excessively  precarious,  as  they  are  protected 
only  by  five  soldiers,  who  reside  under  the  directions  of  a  corporal,  in  the 
buildings  of  the  mission  at  some  distance  on  the  other  side  of  the  church 
The  natives,  however,  seemed  to  have  treated  with  the  most  perfect  in- 
difference the  precepts  and  laborious  example  of  their  truly  worthy  and 
benevolent  pastors.  Deaf  to  the  important  lessons,  and  insensible  of  the 
promised  advantages,  they  still  remained  in  the  most  abject  state  of  un- 
civilization  ;  and  if  we  except  the  inhabitants  of  Terra  del  Fuego  and  those 
of  Van  Dieraen's  Land,  they  are  certainly  a  race  of  the  most  miserable 
beings,  possessing  the  faculties  of  human  reason,  they  ever  saw.  Their 
persons,  generally  speaking,  were  under  the  middle  size,  and  very  ill  made  ; 
their  faces  ugly,  presenting  a  dull,  heavy,  and  stupid  countenance,  devoid 
of  sensibility  or  the  least  expression.  One  of  their  greatest  aversions  is 
cleanliness,  both  in  their  persons  and  habitations,  which,  after  the  fashion 
of  their  forefathers,  were  still  without  the  most  trivial  improvement.  Their 
houses  were  of  a  conical  form,  about  six  or  seven  feet  in  diameter  at  their 
base,  and  are  constructed  by  a  number  of  stakes,  chiefly  of  the  willow  tribe, 
which  are  driven  erect  into  the  earth  in  a  circular  manner,  the  upper  ends 
of  which,  being  small  and  pliable,  are  brought  nearly  to  join  at  the  top, 
in  the  centre  of  the  circle. 

On  the  25th  they  set  sail  for  Monterey,  where  they  found  the  Daedalus, 


832  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

and  also  Seignior  Quadra,  with  his  broad  pendant  on  board  the  brig  Acteon. 
He,  as  well  as  the  acting  governor,  Seignior  Anquilla,  behaved  in  the 
most  friendly  and  liberal  manner.  Among  the  articles  obtained  here, 
were  live  cattle  and  sheep,  to  be  transported  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  Port 
Jackson,  and  New  South  Wales,  whither  Lieutenant  Hanson  sailed  in 
the  Dajdalus,  with  despatches  for  Commodore  Phillips,  having  directions 
to  call  at  Otaheite,  to  receive  on  board  21  English  seamen,  who  had  been 
cast  av/ay  in  that  neighbourhood.  Mr.  Broughton  also,  with  the  assistance 
of  Seignior  Quadra,  was  enabled  to  proceed  to  England  through  New  Spain, 
with  despatches  to  the  admiralty,  containing  accounts  of  the  hitherto 
transactions  of  the  voyage,  Mr.  Puget  being  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  Chatham. 

They  sailed  on  the  14th  of  January,  and  on  the  12th  of  February  ar- 
rived oft  the  north-east  point  of  Owyhee. 

Having,  on  the  21st  of  February,  reached  Tyahtatooa,  Captain  Van- 
couver was  honoured  with  a  visit  from  Tamaahmaah,  the  king  of  the 
Island  of  Owyhee,  a  chief  of  an  open,  cheerful,  and  sensible  mind,  com- 
bined with  great  generosity  and  goodness  of  disposition.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  John  Young,  an  English  seaman,  who  possessed  much  in- 
fluence with  hnn.  The  queen  and  some  of  his  majesty's  relations  also 
visited  on  board.  The  sole  object  was  to  invite  and  entreat  their  pro- 
ceeding to  Karakakooa. 

They  were  much  pleased  with  the  decorum  and  general  conduct  of 
this  royal  party.  Though  it  consisted  of  many,  yet  not  one  solicited 
even  the  most  inconsiderable  article,  nor  did  they  appear  to  have 
any  expectation  of  receiving  presents.  Being  determined  that  nothing 
should  be  wanting  to  preserve  the  harmony  and  good  understanding 
that  seemed  to  have  taken  place  between  them,  and  having  learned 
from  Young  that  the  royal  visiters  did  not  entertain  the  most  distant  idea 
of  accepting  anything  from  the  captain,  until  they  had  first  set  the  ex- 
ample, he  considered  this  a  good  opportunity  to  manifest  a  friendly  dis- 
position toward  them,  by  presents  suitable  to  their  respective  ranks  and 
situations.  Accordingly,  such  articles  were  distributed  as  they  knew 
were  likely  to  be  highly  acceptable  to  the  whole  party.  This  distribu- 
tion being  finished,  and  the  whole  party  made  very  happy,  the  king,  in 
addition  to  what  he  had  before  received,  was  presented  with  a  scarlet 
cloak,  that  reached  from  his  neck  to  the  ground,  adorned  with  tinsel  lace, 
trimmed  with  various  coloured  gartering  tape,  with  blue  ribands  to  tie  it 
down  the  front.  The  looking-glasses  being  placed  opposite  to  each  other, 
displayed  at  once  the  whole  of  his  royal  person  ;  this  filled  him  with  rap- 
ture, and  so  delighted  him,  that  the  cabin  could  scarcely  contain  him.  His 
ecstasy  produced  capering,  and  he  soon  cleared  the  cabin  of  many  of  their 
visiters,  whose  numbers  had  rendered  it  very  hot  and  unpleasant.  Ho 
himself  soon  followed,  and  after  strutting  some  little  time  upon  deck,  ex- 
posed himself  in  the  most  conspicuous  places,  seemingly  with  the  greatest 
indifference,  though  in  reality  for  the  sole  purpose  of  attracting  the  admira- 
tion and  applause  of  his  subjects. 

Next  morning  they  reached  Karakakooa,  the  residence  of  Tamaahmaah  ; 
from  whence,  before  the  ship  was  well  secured,  eleven  large  canoes  put 
off  from  the  shore  with  great  order,  and  formed  two  equal  sides  of  an 
obtuse  triangle.  The  largest  canoe,  being  in  the  angular  point,  was  rowed 
by  eighteen  paddles  on  each  side  ;  in  this  was  his  Owyhean  majesty, 
dressed  in  a  primed  linen  gown  that  Captain  Cook  had  given  to  Terreoo- 
boo,  and  the  most  elegant  feathered  cloak  they  had  yet  seen,  composed 


G.  VANCOUVER.  333 

principally  of  beautiful  bright  yellow  feathers,  and  reaching  from  his 
shoulders  to  the  ground,  on  which  it  trailed.  On  his  head  he  wore  a  very 
handsome  helmet,  and  made  altogether  a  very  magnificent  appearance. 
His  canoe  was  advanced  a  little  forward  in  the  procession,  to  the  actions 
of  which  the  other  ten  strictly  attended,  keeping  he  most  exact  and  regular 
time  with  their  paddles,  and  inclining  to  the  right  or  left,  agreeably  to  the 
directions  of  the  king,  who  conducted  the  whole  business  with  a  degree 
of  adroitness  and  uniformity,  that  manifested  a  knowledge  of  such  move- 
ments and  manoeuvre,  far  beyond  what  could  reasonably  have  been  ex- 
pected. In  this  manner  he  paraded  round  the  vessels  with  a  slow  and 
solemn  motion.  This  not  only  added  a  great  dignity  to  the  procession, 
but  gave  time  to  the  crowd  of  canoes  alongside  to  get  out  of  the  way. 
He  now  ordered  the  ten  canoes  to  draw  up  in  a  line  under  their  stern, 
while,  with  the  utmost  exertions  of  his  paddlers,  he  rowed  up  along  the 
starboard  side  of  the  ship,  and  though  the  canoe  was  going  at  a  very  great 
rate,  she  was  in  an  instant  stopped,  with  that  part  of  the  canoe  where  his 
majesty  was  standing  immediately  opposite  the  gang-way.  He  instantly 
ascended  the  side  of  the  ship,  and  taking  hold  of  the  captain's  hand,  de- 
manded if  they  were  sincerely  his  friends  1  To  this  Vancouver  answered 
in  the  affirmative;  he  then  said,  that  he  understood  they  belonged  to 
King  George,  and  asked  if  he  was  likewise  his  friend  1  on  receiving  a 
satisfactory  answer  to  this  question,  he  declared  that  he  was  their  firm 
good  friend  ;  and,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  country,  in  testimony 
of  the  sincerity  of  their  declarations,  they  saluted  by  touching  noses. 
He  then  presented  the  captain  with  four  very  handsome  feathered  helmets, 
and  ordered  the  ten  large  canoes  that  were  under  the  stern  to  come  on 
the  starboard  side.  Each  of  these  contained  nine  very  large  hogs,  while  a 
fleet  of  smaller  canoes,  containing  a  profusion  of  vegetables,  were  ordered 
by  him  to  deliver  their  cargoes  on  the  opposite  side.  This  supply  was  more 
than  they  could  possibly  dispose  of;  some  of  the  latter  he  was  prevailed 
upon  to  reserve ;  but  although  their  decks,  as  well  as  those  of  the  Chatham, 
•were  already  encumbered  with  their  good  things,  he  would  not  suffer  one 
hog  to  be  returned  to  the  shore.  The  remaining  live  stock  on  board,  con- 
sisting of  five  cows,  two  ewes,  and  a  ram,  were  sent  on  shore  in  some 
of  his  canoes  ;  these  were  all  in  a  healthy  state,  though  in  low  condition, 
and  they  had  little  doubt  of  their  succeeding  to  the  utmost  of  their  wishes. 

Besides  Young,  his  Owyhean  majesty's  favourite  before-mentioned, 
there  were  here  also  John  Smith,  an  Irishman,  who  had  deserted  from  an 
American  trader,  and  Isaac  Davis,  who  had  been  captured  by  the  islanders 
in  the  schooner  Fair  American.  These  men  behaved  extremely  well, 
and  had  been  taken  under  the  special  patronage  of  Tamaahmaah,  who 
was  much  irritated  at  the  above  capture,  and  the  treatment  of  the  peo- 
ple belonging  to  the  schooner,  which  was  atrociously  taken  by  Tamaahmoo- 
too,  a  powerful  chief,  and  his  people,  but  which  Tamaahmaah  caused  to 
be  delivered  up  to  them,  to  be  kept  for  the  benefit  of  the  proprietor.  Mr. 
Metcalf,  who  had  the  command  of  the  schooner,  was  thrown  overboard 
by  Tamaahmootoo,  who  took  out  of  her  everything  he  could  before  the 
arrival  of  the  king  and  Young.  In  this  affair  Tianna  had  also  acted  a 
scandalous  part,  endeavouring,  by  false  insinuations,  to  prevail  on  the 
king  to  kill  Young  and  Davis  ;  but  his  arts  were  unsuccessful  on  his 
majesty,  whose  sound  judgment  and  humane  attentions  would  have  done 
credit  to  the  sovereign  of  a  more  civilized  people. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  as  soon  as  dinner  was  over,  they  were  summoned 
to  a  sham- fight  on  shore  ;  and  as  Tamaahmaah  considered  all  ceremonies 


334  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

and  formalities  as  adding  to  his  consequence,  he  requested  that  the  cap- 
tain would  be  attended  on  shore  by  a  guard.  They  found  the  warriors 
assembled  toward  the  north  corner  of  the  beach,  without  the  limits  of  the 
hallowed  ground.  The  party  consisted  of  about  150  men,  armed  with 
spears  ;  these  were  divided  into  three  parties,  nearly  in  equal  numbers  ; 
two  were  placed  at  a  little  distance  from  each  other  ;  that  on  the  right 
was  to  represent  the  armies  of  Titeeree  and  Taio  ;  that  on  the  left  the 
army  of  Taraaahmaah.  Their  spears  on  this  occasion  were  blunt-pointed 
sticks,  about  the  length  of  their  barbed  ones,  while  on  each  wing  they 
were  to  suppose  a  body  of  troops  placed  to  annoy  the  enemy  with  stones 
from  their  slings.  The  combatants  now  advanced  toward  each  other, 
seemingly  without  any  principal  leader,  making  speeches  as  they  ap- 
proached, which  appeared  to  end  in  vaunts  and  threats  from  both  parties, 
when  the  battle  began,  by  throwing  their  sham  spears  at  each  other. 
These  were  parried  in  most  instances  with  great  dexterity  ;  but  such  as 
were  thrown  with  effect  produced  contusions  and  wounds,  which,  though 
fortunately  of  no  dangerous  tendency,  were  yet  very  considerable  ;  and  it 
was  admirable  to  observe  the  great  good  humour  and  evenness  of  temper 
that  was  preserved  by  those  who  were  thus  injured.  This  battle  was  a 
mere  skirmish,  neither  party  being  supported,  nor  advancing  in  any  order, 
but  such  as  the  fancy  of  the  individuals  directed.  Some  would  advance 
even  from  the  rear  to  the  front,  where  they  would  throw  their  spears,  and 
instantly  retreat  into  the  midst  of  their  associates,  or  would  remain  picking 
up  the  spears  that  had  fallen  without  effect.  These  they  would  some- 
times hurl  again  at  the  foe,  or  hastily  retreat,  with  two  or  three  in  their 
possession.  Those,  however,  who  valued  themselves  on  military  achieve- 
ments, marched  up  toward  the  front  of  the  adverse  party,  and  in  a  vaunt- 
ing manner  bid  defiance  to  the  whole  of  their  adversaries.  In  their  left 
hand  they  held  their  spear,  with  which,  in  a  contemptuous  manner,  they 
parried  some  of  those  of  their  opponents,  while  with  their  right  they 
caught  others  in  the  act  of  flying  immediately  at  them,  and  instantly  re- 
turned them  with  great  dexterity.  In  this  exercise  no  one  seemed  to 
excel  his  Owyhean  majesty,  who  entered  the  lists  for  a  short  time  and 
defended  himself  with  the  greatest  dexterity,  much  to  their  surprise  and 
admiration,  in  one  instance  particularly,  against  six  spears  that  were 
hurled  at  him  nearly  at  the  same  instant  ;  three  he  caught,  as  they  were 
flying,  with  one  hand  ;  two  he  broke,  by  parrying  them  with  his  spear  in  the 
other  ;  and  the  sixth,  by  a  trifling  inclination  of  his  body,  passed  harmless. 

This  part  of  the  combat  was  intended  to  represent  the  king  as  having 
been  suddenly  discovered  by  the  enemy  in  a  situation  where  he  was  least 
expected  to  be  found  ;  and  the  shower  of  darts  that  were  instantly  direct- 
ed to  that  quarter  were  intended  to  show  that  he  was  in  the  most  immi- 
nent danger ;  until  advancing  a  few  paces,  with  the  whole  body  of  his 
army  more  closely  connected,  and  throwing  their  spears  with  the  utmost 
exertion,  he  caused  the  enemy  to  fall  back  in  some  little  confusion,  and  he 
himself  rejoined  the  English,  without  having  received  the  slightest  injury. 

The  consequences  attendant  on  the  first  man  being  killed,  or  being  so 
wounded  as  to  fall  on  the  disputed  ground  between  the  contending  armies, 
were  next  exhibited.  This  event  causes  the  loss  of  many  lives  and  much 
blood  in  the  conflict  that  takes  place,  in  order  to  rescue  the  unfortunate 
individual,  who,  if  carried  off  by  the  adverse  party,  dead  or  alive,  becomes 
an  immediate  sacrifice  at  the  moral.  On  this  occasion  the  wounded  man 
was  supposed  to  be  one  of  Titeeree's  soldiers,  and  until  this  unhappy 
period  no  advantage  appeared  on  either  side  ;  but  now  the  dispute  became 


a.  VANCOUVER.  335 

very  serious,  was  well  supported  on  all  sides,  and  victory  still  seemed  to 
hold  a  level  scale,  until  at  length  the  supposed  armies  of  Taio  and  Titee- 
ree  fell  back,  while  that  of  Tamaahmaah  carried  off  in  triumph  several 
supposed  dead  bodies,  dragging  the  poor  fellows  (who  already  had  been 
much  trampled  upon)  by  the  heels  some  distance  through  a  light,  loose 
sand  ;  and  who,  notwithstanding  their  eyes,  ears,  mouth,  and  nostrils, 
were  by  this  means  filled,  were  no  sooner  permitted  to  use  their  legs, 
than  they  ran  into  the  sea,  washed  themselves,  and  appeared  as  happy 
and  as  cheerful  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 

In  this  riot-like  engagement  the  principal  chiefs  were  considered  to 
bear  no  part ;  and,  on  its  being  thus  concluded,  each  party  sat  quietly 
down  on  the  ground,  and  a  parley,  or  some  other  sort  of  conversation, 
took  place.  The  chiefs  were  now  supposed  to  have  arrived  at  the  theatre 
of  war,  which  had  hitherto  been  earned  on  by  the  common  people  only 
of  both  parties  ;  a  very  usual  mode  of  proceeding  among  these  islanders. 
They  now  on  both  sides  came  forward,  guarded  by  a  number  of  men 
armed  with  spears  of  great  length,  called  pallaloos.  These  weapons  are 
never  relinquished  but  by  death  or  captivity  ;  the  former  is  the  most 
common.  They  are  not  barbed,  but  reduced  to  a  small  point,  and  though 
not  very  sharp,  yet  are  capable  of  giving  deep  and  mortal  wounds  by  the 
force  and  manner  with  which  they  are  used.  The  missive  spears  are  all 
barbed  about  six  inches  from  the  point,  and  are  generally  from  seven  to 
eight  feet  long. 

The  warriors  armed  with  the  pallaloos  now  advanced  with  a  conside- 
rable degree  of  order,  and  a  scene  of  very  different  exploits  commenced  ; 
presenting,  in  comparison  to  what  before  had  been  exhibited,  a  wonderful 
degree  of  improved  knowledge  in  military  evolutions.  This  body  of  men, 
composing  several  ranks,  formed  in  close  and  regular  order,  constituted  a 
firm  and  compact  phalanx,  which  in  actual  service  was  not  easily  to  be 
broken.  Having  reached  the  spot  in  contest,  thy  sat  down  on  the  ground 
about  thirty  yards  asunder,  and  pointed  their  pallaloos  at  each  other. 
After  a  short  interval  of  silence,  a  conversation  commenced,  and  Taio 
was  supposed  to  state  his  opinion  respecting  peace  and  war.  The  argu- 
ments seemed  to  be  argued  and  supported  with  equal  energy  on  both  sides. 
When  peace  under  certain  stipulations  was  proposed,  the  pallaloos  were 
inclined  toward  the  ground,  and  when  war  was  announced,  their  points 
were  raised  to  a  certain  degree  of  elevation.  Both  parties  put  on  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  much  upon  their  guard,  and  to  watch  each  other  with  a  ^ 
jealous  eye,  while  this  negotiation  was  going  forward  ;  which,  however,  not 
terminating  amicably,  their  respective  claims  remained  to  be  decided  by 
the  fate  of  a  battle.  Nearly  at  the  same  instant  of  time  they  all  arose, 
and,  in  close  columns,  met  each  other  by  slow  advances.  This  move- 
ment they  conducted  with  much  order  and  regularity,  frequently  shifting 
their  ground,  and  guarding  with  great  circumspection  against  the  various 
advantages  of  their  opponents  ;  while  the  inferior  bands  were  supposed 
to  be  engaged  on  each  wing  with  spears  and  slings.  The  success  of  the 
contest,  however,  seemed  to  depend  entirely  on  those  with  the  pallaloos, 
who  firmly  disputed  every  inch  of  the  ground,  by  parrying  each  other's 
lunges  with  the  greatest  dexterity,  until  some  to  the  left  of  Titeeree's 
centre  fell.  This  greatly  encouraged  Tamaahmaah's  party,  who,  rushing 
forward  with  shouts  and  great  impetuosity,  broke  the  ranks  of  their  op- 
ponents, and  victory  was  declared  for  the  arms  of  Owyhee,  by  the  sup- 
posed death  of  several  of  the  enemy  ;  these  at  length  retreated  ;  and,  on 
bemg  closely  pressed,  the  war  was  decided  by  the  supposed  death  of 


336  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

Titeeree  and  Taio  ;  and  those  who  had  the  honour  of  personating  these 
chiefs  were,  hke  those  before,  dragged  in  triumph  by  the  heels  over  no 
small  extent  of  loose  sand)r*)each,  to  be  presented  to  the  victorious  Ta- 
maahmaah,  and  for  the  supposed  purpose  of  being  sacrificed  at  his  morai 
These  poor  fellows,  like  those  before-mentioned,  bore  their  treatment  with 
the  greatest  good  humour. 

Having  sailed  from  Owyhee,  they  arrived  on  the  10th  of  March  off 
Mowee,  of  which  some  parts  were  cultivated  and  inhabited,  others  the  re- 
verse. Besides  the  attempts  to  consolidate  a  peace  with  the  other  islands. 
Captain  Vancouver's  great  object  here  was  to  investigate  the  murders  of 
laeutenant  Hergest  and  Mr.  Gooch,  at  Maokoo. 

About  noon  next  day,  they  had  the  company  of  a  chief  named  Tomo- 
homoho,  who  said  he  was  younger  brother  to  Titeeree,  and  that  he  had 
come,  by  his  orders,  to  conduct  them  to  the  best  anchorage  at  Baheina, 
where  Titeeree  himself  would  shortly  meet  them. 

On  the  l3th  they  were  honoured  with  the  presence  of  Titeeree,  who 
was  considered  as  king  of  all  the  islands  to  the  leeward  of  Owyhee  ;  and 
that  from  him  Taio  derived  his  authority.  He  came  boldly  alongside, 
but  entered  the  ship  with  a  sort  of  partial  confidence,  accompanied  by 
several  chiefs  ;  he  was  greatly  debilitated  and  emaciated  ;  and,  from  the 
colour  of  his  skin,  they  judged  his  feebleness  to  have  been  brought  on  by 
2in  excessive  use  of  the  ava.  Among  the  articles  presented  to  him  on 
this  occasion  was  a  cloak,  similar  to  those  given  Tamaahmaah  ;  this 
highly  delighted  him ;  and  he  was  also  well  pleased  with  the  other  pre- 
sents he  received. 

The  royal  party  appearing  to  be  perfectly  satisfied  of  their  friendly  in- 
tentions, the  captain  demanded  of  Titeeree  what  offence  had  been  com- 
mitted by  the  late  Mr.  Hergest  and  Mr.  Gooch,  to  occasion  their  having 
been  put  to  death.  To  this  question  they  all  repHed,  that  neither  of  those 
gentlemen,  nor  any  other  person  belonging  to  the  Daedalus,  had,  to  their 
knowledge,  been  guilty  of  any  offence  whatever.  He  then  requested  to 
know  what  was  the  reason  of  their  having  been  murdered,  and  who  was 
the  chief  that  gave  orders  for  that  purpose.  This  question  was  also  an- 
swered by  the  solemn  declaration  of  the  whole  party,  that  there  was  no 
chief  present  on  that  melancholy  occasion ;  nor  was  any  chief  in  the 
least  degree  concerned  ;  but  that  the  murder  was  committed  by  a  law- 
less set  of  ill-minded  men ;  and  that  the  instant  Titeeree  had  become 
acquainted  with  the  transaction,  he  had  ordered  all  those  who  had  been 
principally  concerned  to  be  put  to  death  ;  and,  in  consequence  of  his 
direction,  three  of  the  offenders  had  suffered  that  punishment.  He  then 
desired  to  know,  if  three  people  only  had  been  concerned.  The  king 
replied,  that  many  were  present  at  the  time,  but  that  only  three  or  four 
more  were  concerned  in  the  murder ;  who  would  likewise  have  suffered 
death,  had  they  not  found  means  to  escape  to  the  mountains,  where  they 
had  secreted  themselves  for  some  time  ;  but  that  he  understood  they  had 
returned,  and  were  now  living  on  or  near  an  estate  belonging  to  Tomo- 
homoho. 

After  some  farther  interchange  of  civilities,  and  much  negotiation  re- 
specting the  wished- for  peace,  Captain  Vancouver  sailed  from  Mowee  the 
18th  of  March,  having  Tomohomoho  on  board,  and  on  the  20th  reached 
Whyteetee,  in  Whoahoo.  One  double  canoe  only  made  its  appearance. 
In  this  came  James  Coleman,  one  of  the  three  men  they  found  last  year, 
left  by  Mr.  Kendrick,  at  Atooi.  The  21st,  Coleman,  with  Tomohomoho 
and  Tennavee,  came  on  board.     The  two  chiefs  desired  the  captain  would 


O.  VANCOtJVER.  537 

attend  them  into  the  cabin ;  where,  after  shutting  all  the  doors,  they  inform- 
ed him  that  the  man  who  had  murdered  Mr.  Hergest,  with  two  others  who 
had  been  equally  active  and  guilty,  were  in  the  forepart  of  the  canoe,  and 
that  no  time  should  be  lost  in  securing  them,  lest  anything  should  Iran 
spire,  and  they  should  again  make  their  escape.  On  the  22d  a  few  of 
the  natives  were  about  the  ship,  but  not  so  many  as  on  the  former  days. 
After  breakfast,  Coleman,  with  Tomohomoho  and  Tennavee,  came  on 
board.  The  latter  two  demanded  the  immediate  execution  of  the  pri- 
soners. This,  however,  was  not  complied  with,  as  it  was  deemed  right 
that  they  should  again  be  accused  by  their  own  chiefs,  in  the  presence  of 
all  the  witnesses,  of  the  crime  with  which  they  stood  charged,  in  order, 
if  possible,  to  draw  from  them  a  confession  of  their  guilt,  and  to  renew 
the  opportunity  which  before  had  been  given  them,  of  producing  some 
evidence  in  proof  of  their  innocence.  Nothing,  however,  could  be  ex- 
torted from  any  of  them,  but  that  they  were  totally  ignorant  of  any  such 
circumstances  having  ever  happened  on  the  island.  This  very  assertion 
amounted  almost  to  self-conviction,  as  it  is  not  easy  to  believe  that  the 
execution  of  their  comrades,  by  Titeeree's  orders,  for  the  same  offence 
with  which  they  had  been  charged,  had  not  come  to  their  knowledge,  or 
that  it  could  have  escaped  their  recollection.  Neither  the  captain  nor 
the  officers  discovered  any  reason,  from  the  result  of  this  farther  examina- 
tion, to  retract  or  alter  their  former  opinion  of  their  guilt,  or  of  delivering 
them  over  to  their  own  people,  to  be  dealt  with  according  to  the  direc- 
tions of  their  chief. 

That  the  ceremony  might  be  made  as  solemn  and  awful  as  possible,  a 
guard  of  Seamen  and  marines  were  drawn  up  on  that  side  of  the  ship 
opposite  to  the  shore,  where,  alongside  of  the  ship,  a  canoe  was  stationed 
for  the  execution.  The  rest  of  the  crew  were  in  readiness  at  the  great 
guns,  lest  any  disturbance  or  commotion  should  arise.  One  ceremony, 
however,  remained  yet  to  be  performed.  One  of  these  unfortunate  men 
had  long  hair  ;  this  it  was  necessary  should  be  cut  from  his  head  before 
he  was  executed,  for  the  purpose  of  being  presented,  as  a  customary 
tribute  on  such  occasions,  to  the  king  of  the  island.  They  were  shocked 
at  the  want  of  feeling  exhibited  by  the  two  chiefs  at  this  awful  moment, 
who,  in  the  rudest  manner,  not  only  cut  off  the  hair,  but,  in  the  presence 
of  the  poor  suffering  wretch,  without  the  least  compassion  for  his  situa- 
tion, disputed  and  strove  for  the  honour  of  presenting  the  prize  to  the 
king.  The  odious  contest  being  at  length  settled,  the  criminals  were 
taken  one  by  one  into  a  double  canoe,  when  they  were  lashed  hand  and 
foot,  and  put  to  death  by  Tennavee,  their  own  chief,  who  blew  out  their 
brains  with  a  pistol ;  and  so  dexterously  was  the  melancholy  office  per- 
formed, that  life  fled  with  the  report  of  the  piece,  and  muscular  motion 
seemed  almost  instantly  to  cease. 

The  two  chiefs  were  anxious  that  there  should  be  an  interview  between 
the  captain  and  Trytooboory.  Reappeared  to  be  about  thirty- three  years  of 
age,  his  countenance  was  fallen  and  reduced,  his  emaciated  frame  \vas  in  a 
most  debilitated  condition,  and  he  was  so  totally  deprived  of  the  use  of  his 
legs,  that  he  was  under  the  necessity  of  being  carried  about  like  an  infant. 

Some  of  the  islanders  next  day,  when  about  midway  between  Whoahoo 
and  Atooi,  took  an  opportunity  to  visit  the  ship.  The  foremost  of 
these,  undertaking  so  distant  a  voyage  in  a  single  canoe,  much  attracted 
their  attention ;  on  her  coming  alongside,  she  proved  to  be  without  ex- 
ception the  finest  canoe  they  had  seen  among  these  islands.  This  vessel 
was  sixty-one  feet  and  a  half  long,  exceeding,  by  four  feet  and  a  half,  the 

29 


338  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

largest  canoes  of  Owyhee  ;  its  depth  and  width  were  in  their  proper 
tion  of  building,  and  the  whole  of  the  workmanship  was  finished  in  a  verj 
masterly  manner. 

The  size  of  this  canoe  was  not  its  only  curiosity  ;  the  wood  of  which 
it  was  formed  was  an  infinitely  greater,  being  made  out  of  an  exceedingly 
fine  pine  tree.  As  this  species  of  timber  is  not  the  produce  of  any  of 
these  islands,  and  as  the  natives  informed  them  it  was  drifted  by  the  ocean, 
it  was  probably  the  growth  of  some  of  the  northern  parts  of  America. 

They  now  bade  adieu  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  made  the  best  of 
their  way  for  Nootka.  The  Discovery  arrived  the  20th  of  May.  Mr. 
Paget  had  arrived  with  the  Chatham  on  the  15th  of  April,  and  departed 
thence  the  18th  of  May,  according  to  his  instructions,  to  proceed  in  the 
survey  of  the  coast.  Mr.  Puget's  journal,  a  letter,  and  other  papers, 
were  left  at  Nootka  for  Captain  Vancouver,  who  also  received  letter* 
there  from  the  Viceroy  of  New  Spain,  containing  the  most  flattering 
assurances  of  every  support  and  assistance  that  kingdom  was  capable 
of  affording.  The  houses  of  the  natives  in  the  neighbourhood  were  found 
to  be  of  a  different  construction  from  any  they  had  before  seen  ;  they  were 
erected  on  a  platform,  and  raised  and  supported  near  thirty  feet  from  the 
ground  by  perpendicular  spars  of  a  very  large  size  ;  the  whole,  occupy- 
ing a  space  of  about  thirty-five  yards  by  fifteen,  was  covered  in  by  a  roof 
of  boards  lying  nearly  horizontal,  and  parellel  to  the  platform  ;  it  seemed 
to  be  divided  into  three  different  houses,  or  rather  apartments,  each  ha- 
ving a  separate  access,  formed  by  a  long  tree  in  an  inclined  position  from 
the  platform  to  the  ground,  with  notches  cut  in  it  by  way  of  steps,  about 
a  foot  and  a  half  asunder.  Up  one  of  these  ladders  Mr.  Johnstone,  with 
one  of  his  party  only,  was  suffered  to  ascend,  and  by  removing  a  broad 
board,  placed  as  a  kind  of  door  on  the  platform  where  the  ladder  rested, 
they  entered  on  a  small  area  before  the  door  of  the  house  or  apartment 
to  which  the  ladder  belonged.  Here  they  found  four  of  the  natives  posted, 
each  bearing  a  rude  weapon  made  of  iron,  not  unlike  a  dagger.  They 
only  permitted  Mr.  Johnstone  to  look  about  him,  and  seemed  much  averse 
to  his  entering  the  house,  which  he  prudently  did  not  insist  upon  ;  but, 
so  far  as  he  was  able  to  observe  within  doors,  their  internal  arrangements 
differed  little  or  nothing  from  the  domestic  economy  of  the  Indians  already 
seen  on  the  shores  of  North- West  America.  The  number  of  inhabitants 
seen  at  this  curious  place  did  not  exceed  a  dozen  or  fourteen,  but  among 
them  were  neither  women  nor  children.  Mr.  Johnstone  discovered  from 
this  that  their  landing  had  excited  no  small  degree  of  alarm,  which  greatly 
subsided  on  their  departure. 

In  the  course  of  continuing  the  examination  of  the  coast,  they  met 
with  some  Indians  of  very  different  behaviour  from  those  they  had  hitherto 
seen.  As  they  advanced,  they  were  joined  by  a  party  of  fifteen  natives 
in  two  canoes.  A  smoke  had  before  been  observed  among  the  trees  on 
the  eastern  shore,  but  they  saw  no  appearance  of  any  habitations.  These 
.people  approached  without  much  hesitation,  and  in  their  countenances 
was  expressed  a  degree  of  savage  ferocity,  infinitely  surpassing  anything 
of  the  sort  they  had  before  observed  in  the  various  tribes  that  had  fallen 
under  their  notice.  Many  of  those  before  seen  had  their  faces  painted 
in  various  modes  ;  but  these  had  contrived  so  to  dispose  of  the  red,  white, 
and  black,  as  to  render  the  natural  ugliness  of  their  countenances  more 
horribly  hideous.  This  frightful  appearance  did  not  seem  to  be  a  new 
fashion,  but  to  have  been  long  adopted  by  their  naturally  ferocious  dis- 
positions, and  was  correspondent  to  the  stern  and  savage  deportment  they 


G.  VANCOUVER.  339 

took  so  much  pains  to  exhibit.  The  captain  offered  them  such  presents 
as  he  had  been  accustomed  to  make  on  similar  occasions,  but  they  wero 
rejected  by  some  with  disdain,  while  the  few  who  deigned  to  accept  any- 
thing received  them  with  a  stern  and  cool  indifference.  Among  the  party 
was  a  woman,  who  was  additionally  disfigured  by  extraordinary  lip  orna- 
ments ;  this  did  not  a  little  augment  her  froward,  shrewdish  aspect.  He 
offered  her  a  looking-glass,  with  some  trinkets,  but  at  the  sight  of  the 
most  savage  fellow  of  the  party,  she  contemptuously  rejected  them.  This 
Indian  then  arranged  his  spears,  about  six  or  eight  in  number,  and  placed 
them  with  their  points  just  over  the  bow  of  the  canoe,  near  where  he  sat ; 
he  also  laid  near  him  his  bow  with  some  arrows,  then  put  on  his  war- 
garment,  and  drew  his  dagger.  Some  in  the  other  canoe  made  similar 
preparations,  either  to  menace  an  attack,  or,  what  seemed  more  likely,  to 
convince  them  they  were  upon  their  guard  against  any  violence  they  might 
be  inclined  to  offer  them. 

A  party  of  twenty-five  natives,  conducted  by  two  chiefs,  visited  the 
at  anchor  off  one  part  of  the  coast,  and  were  very  sociable.  One 
of  the  chiefs,  who  had  a  very  open,  cheerful  countenance,  was  the  finest 
figure  and  the  stoutest  Indian  Captain  Vancouver  had  seen  on  the  coast. 
The  greatest  treat  which  could  be  given  them  was  bread  and  molasses, 
which  they  admired  very  much  ;  but  were  also  very  anxious  to  recommend 
their  whale  oil  as  even  a  still  greater  delicacy  than  molasses.  In  the 
afternoon,  as  these  new  friends  were  visiting  the  Chatham,  they  were 
suddenly  surprised  by  the  arrival  of  a  large  canoe  full  of  men,  singing 
a  song  and  keeping  time  by  the  regularity  of  their  paddling.  Their 
course,  directed  toward  the  Discovery,  seemed  not  to  correspond  with  the 
wishes  of  the  former  party,  who  immediately  equipped  themselves  in  their 
war-garments,  and  their  spears,  which  had  lain  in  the  bottom  of  their 
canoes,  were  now  got  to  hand,  and  couched  in  an  inclined  position,  with 
their  points  toward  the  new  comers.  Thus  prepared,  they  advanced 
slowly  to  meet  them,  making  most  violent  and  passionate  speeches,  which 
were  answered  in  a  similar  tone  of  voice  by  some  persons  who  stood  up 
in  the  large  canoe.  They  continued  to  paddle  with  much  regularity  toward 
each  other  ;  yet  those  who  had  now  entered  the  harbour  did  not  appear  to 
be  so  hostilely  inclined  as  those  who  had  already  occupied  the  port ;  as  the 
lances  of  the  former,  though  in  readiness  for  action,  were  not  disposed 
in  a  way  so  menacing.  Oa  a  nearer  approach,  they  rested  on  their  pad- 
dles, and  entered  into  a  parley  ;  and  we  could  then  observe,  that  all  those 
who  stood  up  in  the  large  canoe  were  armed  with  pistols  or  blunderbusses, 
very  bright  and  in  good  order.  Their  conversation  seeming  to  have  ended 
in  a  pacific  way,  the  opposing  party  returned  with  their  new  comers,  who, 
on  passing  by  the  Chatham,  laid  down  their  arms  ;  but  just  as  they  came 
alongside  the  Discovery,  one  of  the  chiefs  who  had  been  on  board  drew 
With  much  haste,  from  within  the  breast  of  his  wai-garment,  a  large  iron 
dagger,  and  appeared  to  be  extremely  irritated  by  something  that  had 
been  said  by  those  in  the  large  canoe,  who  again,  with  great  coolness, 
took  up  their  pistols  and  blunderbusses  ;  but  on  an  explanation  appearing 
to  be  made,  their  arms  were  again  returned  to  their  proper  places ;  their 
pistols  and  ammunition  were  carefully  wrapped  up,  and  a  perfect  recon- 
ciliation seemed  to  have  taken  place  on  both  sides. 

The  survey  was  continued  sedulously  till  the  5th  of  October,  when 
both  vessels  returned  to  Nootka.  The  usual  ceremonies  of  salutes  and 
other  formalities  having  passed,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Puget,  Vancouver 
waited  on  Seignior  Saavadra,  the  commandant  of  the  port ;  who  said  that 


840  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

he  had  not  received  any  intelligence,  either  fram  Europe  or  from  New 
Spain,  since  their  departure  from  hence  in  the  spring ;  and  that  neither 
the  Daedalus  nor  any  other  ship  with  stores  had  been  there. 

Having  quitted  Nootka,  nothing  of  importance  occurred  till  their  arri- 
val, on  the  19lh,  in  Port  St.  Francisco,  They  were  soon  hailed  from 
Ihe  shore,  upon  which  a  boat  was  despatched  thither,  and  immediately 
returned  with  their  civil  and  attentive  friend,  Seignior  Sal ;  who,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  offers  of  his  services  and  hospitality,  gratified  them  by  com- 
municating the  interesting  intelligence  of  the  state  of  Europe,  up  to  so 
late  a  date  as  the  preceding  February.  After  supper  he  retired  to  the 
shore,  and  the  next  morning  the  captain  received  from  him  two  letters  ; 
the  one  requesting,  in  an  official  form,  that  he  would  acquaint  him  in 
writing  of  his  arrival  in  Port  St.  Francisco,  of  the  supplies  he  should 
want,  and  of  the  time  he  intended  to  remain  in  that  port  ;  the  other 
stating  that,  under  the  superior  orders  by  which  alone  his  conduct  could 
be  governed,  he  was  obliged  to  make  known,  that  no  individual  could  be 
permitted  to  corae  on  shore,  but  for  the  purposes  of  procuring  wood  and 
water,  excepting  the  captain  and  one  officer,  or  midshipman,  who  might 
pass  to  the  presidio,  where  they  should  be  received  and  attended  as  on 
their  former  visit. 

These  restrictions  were  of  a  nature  so  unexpected,  ungracious,  and 
degrading,  that  they  could  not  but  consider  them  as  little  short  of  a  dis- 
mission from  St.  Francisco. 

In  proceeding  toward  Monterey,  they  made  so  little  progress,  that 
they  were  still  at  no  great  distance  from  St.  Francisco  next  moning,  the 
25th,  when  a  vessel  was  descried  to  the  north-north-west ;  and,  on 
standing  toward  her,  she  proved  to  be  the  Daedalus.  On  the  1st  of  No- 
vember they  reached  Monterey  with  the  Da3dalus. 

Having  anchored  before  another  Spanish  establishment,  Vancouver 
sent  Lieutenant  Swaine  to  inform  the  commanding  officer  at  the  presidio 
of  their  arrival. 

The  next  morning,  accompanied  by  Lieutanants  Puget  and  Hanson, 
Vancouver  paid  his  respects  on  shore  to  Seignior  Don  Phelipe  Goycochea, 
the  commandant  of  the  establishment  of  Santa  Barbara,  and  heutenant 
in  the  Spanish  infant'-y.  The  pleasing  society  of  their  good  friends  at 
the  mission  and  presidio  was  augmented  by  the  arrival  of  Friar  Vincente 
Santa  Maria,  one  of  the  reverend  fathers  of  the  mission  of  Buena  Ventura, 
situated  about  seven  leagues  from  hence,  on  the  sea-coast  to  the  south- 
eastward. At  eight  in  the  evening  they  anchored  in  fifteen  fathoms 
water,  about  a  league  to  the  westward  of  Buena  Ventura.  Their  reve- 
rend friend  expressed  great  satisfaction  at  the  mode  of  his  return  to  the 
mission  ;  and  said,  that  his  voyage  hither  would  probably  lay  the  founda- 
tion for  removing  the  absurd  and  deep-rooted  prejudice  that  had  ever  exist- 
ed among  the  several  tribes  of  Indians  in  his  neighbourhood,  who,  from 
their  earliest  infancy,  had  invariably  regarded  all  strangers  as  their  enemies. 

On  their  entering  the  mission,  they  were  received  by  Father  Francisco 
Dume,  and  entertained  in  a  manner  that  proved  the  great  respectabdity 
of  the  Franciscan  order. 

The  morning,  which  was  most  delightfully  pleasant,  was  employed  in 
viewing  the  buildings  of  the  mission,  the  arrangement  of  the  gardens  and 
cultivated  land  in  its  immediate  vicinage.  These  all  appeared  to  be  in  a  very 
supfrior  style  to  any  of  the  new  settlements  they  had  yet  seen,  and  would 
have  tempted  a  more  minute  inquiry,  had  not  an  anxious  desire  for  pro- 
ceeding onward  prohibited  the  delay  it  would  necessarily  have  occasioned. 


O.  VANCOUVER.  341 

On  the  27ih  reached  St.  Diego,  and  despatched  Lieutenant  Swaine  to 
the  presidio,  in  order  to  inform  the  commanding  officer  of  their  arrival, 
and  to  inquire  if  any  despatches  for  them  had  been  intrusted  to  his  care, 
or  if  he  knew  of  any  that  had  passed  this  station  on  their  way  to  Mon- 
terey. A  continuation  of  southerly  winds  caused  them  to  be  detained, 
contrary  to  expectation,  until  Monday,  the  9th,  when  they  quitted  the 
Port  of  St.  Diego. 

The  fourth  examination  of  the  coast  was  a  matter  anxiously  wished  by 
Captain  Vancouver  ;  but  it  would  have  exceeded  the  strict  letter  of  his 
instructions,  and  might  possibly  have  excited  additional  jealousy  in  the 
breast  of  the  Spanish  acting  governor. 

Nothing  of  consequence  occurred  till  their  arrival,  on  the  8th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1794,  at  Owyhee,  off  the  Bay  of  Whyealea,  where  their  return 
was  proclaimed  by  shouts  of  joy,  and  they  were  visited  by  Tamaahmaah, 
rejoiced  to  meet  his  friends  at  this  his  favourite  part  of  the  island  ;  bat  it 
being  found  more  proper  to  proceed  to  Karakakooa,  the  king,  notwithstand- 
ing a  strict  taboo,  consented  to  accompany  Captain  Vancouver  in  the  ship. 
Among  the  visiters  on  board  Tahowmanam,  the  king's  wife,  did  not  ap- 
pear, a  separation  having  taken  place  in  consequence  of  a  supposed  in- 
timacy between  her  and  Tianna. 

Their  course  was  now  directed  round  the  east  point  of  the  island, 
along  its  south-east  side  ;  they  made  tolerable  good  progress  ;  and  as 
they  passed  the  district  of  Opoona,  on  the  11th,  the  weather  being  very 
clear  and  pleasant,  they  had  a  most  excellent  view  of  Mowna  Roa's 
snowy  summit  and  the  range  of  the  lower  hills  that  extend  toward  the 
east  end  of  Owyhee.  From  the  tops  of  these  several  columns  of  smoke 
were  seen  to  ascend,  which  Tamaahmaah  said  were  occasioned  by  the 
subterraneous  fires  that  frequently  broke  out  in  violent  eruptions,  causing 
among  the  natives  such  a  multiplicity  of  superstitious  notions,  as  to  give 
rise  to  a  religious  order  of  persons,  who  perform  volcanic  rites. 

As  they  worked  into  the  Bay  of  Karakakooa,  many  of  the  inhabitants 
were  assembled  on  the  shores,  who  announced  their  congratulations  by 
shouts  of  joy  ;  many  of  their  former  friends,  particularly  of  the  fair  sex,  lost 
no  time  in  testifying  the  sincerity  of  the  public  sentiment  in  their  favour. 
Young  and  Davis  they  had  likewise  the  pleasure  of  finding  in  the  exer- 
cise of  those  judicious  principles  they  had  so  wisely  adopted,  and  which, 
by  their  example  and  advice,  had  so  uniformly  been  carried  into  effect. 

On  Thursday,  the  30th,  they  were  favoured  with  the  company  of  Ter- 
ree-my-tee,  Crymamahoo,  Tianna,  and  some  other  chiefs,  from  the  dis- 
tant parts  of  the  island.  Their  arrival  had  been  in  consequence  of  a 
summons  from  the  king,  who  had  called  the  grand  council  of  the  island, 
on  the  subject  of  its  cession  to  the  crown  of  Great  Britain,  which  was 
unanimously  desired.  These  chiefs  brought  intelligence,  that  a  quantity 
of  timber,  which  had  been  sent  for  at  the  captain's  request,  was  on  its 
way  hither  ;  it  had  been  cut  down  under  the  direction  of  an  Englishman, 
named  Boyd,  formerly  mate  of  the  sloop  Washington,  but  who  had  re- 
linquished that  way  of  life,  and  had  entered  into  the  service  of  Tamaah- 
maah. He  appeared  in  the  character  of  a  shipwright,  and  had  under- 
taken to  build,  with  these  materials,  a  vessel  for  the  king,  after  the 
European  fashion  ;  but  both  himself  and  his  comrades,  Young  and  Da- 
vis, were  fearful  of  encountering  too  many  difRculties  ;  especially  as  they 
were  all  much  at  a  loss  in  the  first  outset,  that  of  laying  down  the  keel. 
This  afforded  Vancouver  an  opportunity  of  conferring  on  Tamaahmaah 
a  favour  that  he  valued  far  beyond  every  other  obligation,  by  permitting 

29* 


343  VOtAGES  ROITN'D  THE  WORLD. 

his  carpenters  to  begin  the  vessel  ;  from  whose  example,  and  the  assis- 
tance of  these  three  engineers,  he  was  in  hopes  that  his  people  would 
hereafter  be  able  to  build  boats  and  small  vessels  for  themselves.  On 
Saturday,  the  1st  of  February,  they  laid  down  the  keel,  and  began  to 
prepare  the  frame-work  of  his  Owyhean  majesty's  first  man-of-war. 
The  length  of  its  keel  was  thirty-six  feet,  the  extreme  breadth  of  the 
vessel  nine  feet  and  a  quarter,  and  the  depth  of  her  hold  about  five  feet  ; 
her  name  was  to  be  The  Britannia,  and  was  intended  as  a  protection  to 
the  royal  person  of  Tamaahmaah  ;  and  few  circumstances  in  his  life  ever 
afforded  him  more  satisfaction. 

Some  solemn  religious  rites  being  now  to  take  place,  Captain  Vancou- 
ver had  frequently  expressed  to  Tamaahmaah  a  desire  of  being  present 
on  some  of  these  occasions  ;  and  he  now  informed  him  he  had  obtained 
the  consent  of  the  priests,  provided  he  would,  during  the  continuance  of 
the  interdiction,  attend  to  all  the  restrictions  which  their  religion  demand- 
ed. The  restraints  imposed  consisted  chiefly  in  four  particulars  :  first,  a 
total  seclusion  from  the  company  of  women ;  secondly,  partaking  of  no 
food  but  such  as  was  previously  consecrated  ;  thirdly,  being  confined  to 
the  land,  and  not  being  afloat  or  wet  with  sea-water ;  and,  fourthly,  not 
receiving,  or  even  touching,  the  most  trivial  article  from  any  one  who  had 
not  attended  the  ceremonies  at  the  morai.  These  restrictions  were  con- 
sidered necessary  to  be  observed  by  the  whole  of  the  parly  resident  on 
shore  ;  and  about  sunset  they  attended  the  summons  of  the  king  at  the 
morai,  who  was  there  officiating  as  high  priest,  attended  by  some  of  the 
principal  residents  of  their  religious  orders,  chanting  an  invocation  to  the 
setting  sun.  Their  prayers  seemed  to  have  some  regularity  and  form, 
and  they  did  not  omit  to  pray  for  the  welfare  of  his  Britannic  majesty, 
and  their  safe  and  happy  return  to  their  native  country.  A  certain  degree 
of  order  was  perceptible  throughout  these  ceremonies,  accompanied  by 
many  superstitious  and  mysterious  formalities  ;  among  which  a  very  prin- 
cipal one  was  performed  about  the  dawn  of  day.  At  this  time  the  most 
profound  silence  was  required  of  every  creature  within  hearing  of  this  sa- 
cred place.  The  king  then  repeated  a  prayer  in  a  low  tone  of  voice  with 
the  greatest  solemnity,  and  in  the  middle  of  it  took  up  a  live  pig  tied  by 
the  legs,  and  with  one  efibrt  dashed  it  to  death  against  the  ground  ;  an 
operation  which  must  be  performed  without  the  slightest  interruption  or 
cry  from  the  victim,  or  without  the  prevailing  silence  being  broken  by  any 
noise  whatsoever,  though  of  the  most  trivial  kind.  This  part  of  the  ser- 
vice is  supposed  to  announce  their  being  on  terms  of  friendship  with  the 
gods,  on  which  the  farther  ceremonies  were  carried  into  execution.  A 
number  of  hogs,  plantains,  and  cocoa  nuts,  were  then  consecrated  for  the 
principal  chiefs  and  priests  ;  the  more  common  productions,  such  as  fish, 
turtle,  fowls,  dogs,  and  the  several  esculent  roots  that  compose  their  food 
during  the  intervals  between  these  more  sacred  taboos,  were  not  now 
served  up,  but  for  the  first  time  since  their  arrival  they  fared  sumptu- 
ously on  those  more  deUcious  articles.  The  intermediate  day,  the  13th, 
and  the  second  night,  were  passed  in  prayer,  during  which  they  found  no 
difficulty  in  complying  with  the  prescribed  regulations,  and  soon  after  the 
sun  rose,  the  14th,  they  were  absolved  from  any  farther  attention  to  their 
sacred  injunctions. 

The  cession  of  Owyhee  to  his  Britannic  majesty  became  now  an  object 
of  serious  concern.  Some  little  delay  and  difficulty,  however,  arose  from 
the  absence  of  two  chiefs,  Commanow,  who  from  local  circumstances 
could  not  quit  his  government,  and  Tamaahmootoo,  chief  of  Koarra,  tlie 


O.  VAXCOUVEIl.  343 

person  w"ho  had  captured  the  Fair  American  schooner.  Their  first  salu- 
tation being  over,  he  caught  the  earUest  opportunity  to  offer  an  apology 
for  the  offence  that  had  so  justly  kept  them  strangers  to  each  other.  He 
complained  of  having  been  treated  very  ill  by  the  crews  of  some  vessels 
that  had  visited  Toeaigh  Bay,  and  particularly  of  his  having  been  beaten 
by  Mr.  Metcalf,  commanding  the  Eleonora,  at  the  time  w^hen  his  son,  who 
afterward  had  the  command  of  the  Fair  American,  was  on  board  the 
former  vessel. 

The  glass  went  freely  round  after  dinner  ;  and  as  this  ceremony  was 
completely  within  the  reach  of  Tamaahmootoo's  imitation,  he  was  anxious 
to  excel  in  this  accompUshment,  by  drinking  with  less  reserve  than  any 
one  at  table.  Vancouver  thought  it  proper  to  remind  him  that,  as  he  was 
not  in  the  habit  of  drinking  spirituous  liquors  like  Tamaahmaah  and  the 
other  chiefs  present,  it  was  necessary  he  should  be  upon  his  guard,  lest 
the  wine  and  grog  should  disagree  with  him  ;  but  as  his  spirits  became 
exhilarated  he  became  less  attentive  to  these  admonitions,  until  the  opera- 
tion of  the  liquors  obliged  him  to  retire.  In  this  state  it  is  not  possible 
to  imagine  a  countenance  more  expressive  of  indignation  or  of  savage 
barbarity  and  resentment ;  his  eyes  were  fixed  on  the  captain  as  he  was 
carried  out  of  the  marquee,  while  his  tongue,  no  longer  confined  within 
his  lips,  indistinctly  uttered  attoou-anni,  signifying  that  he  had  poisoned 
him,  and  some  present,  even  of  their  old  acquaintance,  seemed  to  be  a 
little  concerned  for  his  safety.  The  king,  however,  laughed  at  their  ap- 
prehension, and  explained  to  them  the  cause  of  Tamaahmootoo's  indisposi- 
tion, which,  by  the  assistance  of  a  little  warm  water,  was  almost  instantly 
recovered,  and  he  rejoined  their  party,  to  the  great  entertainment  and 
diversion  of  his  countrymen,  who  were  still  very  pleasantly  regaling  them- 
selves, and  in  the  perfect  enjoyment  of  each  other's  society. 

At  one  of  their  evening  amusements  the  captain  was  very  well  enter- 
tained. This  was  a  performance  by  a  single  young  woman  of  the  name 
of  Puckoo,  whose  person  and  manners  were  both  very  agreeable.  Her 
dress,  notwithstanding  the  heat  of  the  weather,  consisted  of  an  immense 
•quantity  of  thin  cloth,  which  was  wound  round  her  waist,  and  extended 
as  low  as  her  knees.  This  was  plaited  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  a 
pretty  effect  to  the  variegated  pattern  of  the  cloth ;  and  was  otherwise 
disposed  with  great  taste.  Her  head  and  neck  were  decorated  with  wreaths 
of  black,  red,  and  yellow  feathers  ;  but,  excepting  these,  she  wore  no  dress 
from  the  waist  upward.  Her  ancles,  and  nearly  half-way  up  her  legs, 
were  decorated  with  several  folds  of  cloth,  widening  upward,  so  that  the 
upper  parts  extended  from  the  leg  at  least  four  inches  all  round  ;  this  was 
encompassed  by  a  piece  of  net-work,  wrought  very  close,  from  the  meshes 
of  which  were  hung  the  small  teeth  of  dogs,  giving  this  part  of  her  dress 
the  appearance  of  an  ornamental  funnel.  On  her  wrists  she  wore  brace- 
lets made  of  the  tusks  from  the  largest  hogs.  These  were  highly  polished 
and  fixed  close  together  in  a  ring,  the  concave  sides  of  the  tusks  being 
outward  ;  and  their  ends  reduced  to  an  uniform  length,  curving  naturally 
each  way  from  the  centre,  were  by  no  means  destitute  of  ornamental  effect. 
Thus  equipped,  her  appearance  on  the  stage,  before  she  uttered  a  single 
word,  excited  considerable  applause  from  the  numerous  spectators,  who 
observed  the  greatest  good  order  and  decorum.  In  her  performance, 
which  was  in  the  open  air,  she  was  accompanied  by  two  men,  who  were 
seated  on  the  ground  in  the  character  of  musicians.  Their  instruments 
were  both  alike,  and  were  made  of  the  outsides  or  shells  of  large  gourds, 
open  at  the  top  ;  the  lower  ends  ground  perfectly  flat,  and  as  thin  as  pos 


344  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

sible,  without  endangering  their  splitting.  These  were  atruck  an  th« 
ground,  covered  with  a  small  quantity  of  dried  grass,  and  in  the  interval 
between  each  stroke  tjiey  beat  with  the  hands  and  fingers  on  the  sides 
of  these  instruments,  to  accompany  their  vocal  exertions,  which,  with  the 
various  motions  of  their  hands  and  body,  and  the  vivacity  of  their  coun- 
tenances, plainly  demonstrated  the  interest  they  had,  not  only  in  excelling 
in  their  own  parts,  but  also  in  the  applause  which  the  lady  acquired  by 
her  performance,  advancing  or  retreating  from  the  musicians  a  few  short 
steps  in  various  directions,  as  the  nature  of  the  subject  and  the  numerous 
gestures  and  motions  of  her  person  demanded.  Her  speech,  or  poem, 
was  first  began  in  a  slow  and  somewhat  solemn  manner,  and  gradually 
became  energetic,  probably  as  the  subject  matter  became  interesting  ; 
until  at  length,  like  a  true  actress,  the  liveliness  of  her  imagination  pro- 
duced a  vociferous  oration,  accompanied  by  violent  emotions.  These 
were  received  with  shouts  of  great  applause  ;  and  although  they  were  not 
sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  language  to  comprehend  the  subject,  yet 
they  could  not  help  being  pleased  in  a  high  degree  with  the  performance. 

On  the  25th  of  February  Tamaahmaah,  King  of  Owyhee,  in  council 
with  the  principal  chiefs  of  the  island,  assembled  on  board  his  Britannic 
majesty's  sloop  Discovery,  in  Karakakooa  Bay,  and  in  the  presence  of 
George  Vancouver,  commander  of  the  said  sloop.  Lieutenant  Peter  Puget, 
commander  of  his  said  majesty's  armed  tender  the  Chatham,  and  the  other 
officers  of  the  Discovery,  after  due  consideration,  unanimously  ceded  the 
Island  of  Owyhee  to  his  Britannic  majesty,  and  acknowledged  themselves 
to  be  subjects  of  Great  Britain. 

As  their  departure  was  now  to  take  place  with  the  first  breeze  from  the 
land,  Tamaahmaah  and  his  queen,  unwiMing  to  take  leave  until  the  very 
last  moment,  remained  on  board  until  near  midnight,  when  they  departed, 
with  hearts  too  full  to  express  the  sensations  which  the  moment  of  separa- 
tion produced  in  each  ;  with  them  their  honest  and  j,udicious  counsellors, 
Young  and  Davis,  returned  to  the  shore.  The  good  sense,  moderation, 
and  propriety  of  conduct  in  these  men,  daily  increased  their  own  respecta- 
bility, and  augmented  the  esteem  and  regard  not  only  of  the  king  and  all, 
his  friends,  but  even  of  those  who  were  professedly  adverse  to  the  exist- 
ing government,  and  who  consequently  were  at  first  inimical  to  their 
interest.  As  it  was  a  great  uncertainty  whether  the  ships  should  or 
should  not  return  again  to  these  islands,  the  captain  had  given  these  two 
worthy  characters  their  choice  of  taking  their  passage  to  their  native 
country,  or  of  remaining  on  the  island  in  the  same  situation  which  they 
had  so  long  filled  with  credit  to  themselves,  and  with  so  much  satisfaction 
to  the  king  and  the  rest  of  the  principal  people.  After  mature  considera- 
tion, they  preferred  their  present  way  of  life,  and  were  desirous  of  con- 
tinuing at  Owyhee  ;  observing,  that,  being  destitute  of  resources,  on 
their  return  home  they  must  be  again  exposed  to  the  vicissitudes  of  a  life 
of  hard  labour,  for  the  purpose  of  merely  acquiring  a  precarious  supply  of 
the  most  common  necessaries  of  life,  objects  which,  for  some  years  past, 
had  not  occasioned  them  the  least  concern. 

Thus  concluded  their  transactions  at  Owyhee,  to  which  they  bade 
adieu  about  three  in  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  March.  They  left  here, 
however,  a  banditti  of  renegadoes,  that  had  quitted  different  trading  ves- 
sels in  consequence  of  disputes  with  their  respective  commanders,  who 
had  resorted  to  this  island  since  the  preceding  year,  under  American  or 
Portuguese  colours.  Among  them  was  one  Portuguese,  one  Chinese, 
and  one  Genoese,  but  all  the  rest  appeared  to  be  the  subjects  of  Great 


a.  VANCOUVER.  345 

Britain,  as  spemed  also  the  major  part  of  ihe  crew  of  the  brig  Washing- 
ton,  although  they  called  themselves  Americans.  With  Kavaheeroo  also 
resided  a  person  by  the  name  of  Howell,  who  had  come  to  Owyhee  in 
the  capacity  of  a  clerk  on  board  the  Washington  ;  he  appeared  to  possess 
a  good  understanding,  with  the  advantages  of  an  university  education, 
and  had  been  once  a  clergyman  in  England,  but  had  now  secluded  him- 
self from  European  society,  so  that,  with  Young,  Davis,  and  Boyd,  there 
were  now  eleven  white  men  on  the  island  ;  but,  excepting  from  these 
latter,  their  Ovvyhean  friends  will  have  little  reason  to  rejoice  in  any  ad- 
vantages they  will  receive  from  their  new  civilized  companions. 

After  visiting  some  other  parts  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  the  ships  finally 
bade  them  adieu  on  the  15lh  of  March,  from  which  period,  till  the  end 
of  August,  the  whole  time  was  occupied  in  a  very  extensive  and  minute 
survey  of  the  coast  of  North- West  America.  Suffice  It  to  say,  that  one 
great  object  of  the  voyage  was,  namely,  to  ascertain  the  existence  of  a 
north-west  passage,  or  any  water  communication  navigable  for  shipping. 
The  North  Pacific  and  the  exterior  of  the  American  continent,  within 
these  limits,  were  completely  examined,  and  it  was  proved  that  no  such 
communication  did  exist,  notwithstanding  the  assertions  of  Fuca,  Fonte, 
and  others,  on  that  subject.  On  the  2d  of  September  the  Dicovery  an- 
chored in  Friendly  Cove,  Nootka  Sound,  where  were  three  of  his  Catho- 
lic majesty's  armed  vessels,  and  some  English  and  American  traders. 

At  Monterey  they  arrived  on  the  2d  of  November.  Having  on  the  2d 
of  December  quitted  it,  and  proceeded  southward,  they  passed  the  three 
Marias  Islands,  and  afterward  the  rich,  but  uninhabited,  Island  of  Cocos. 
Its  produce  is  luxurious  and  abundant,  as  are  also  fowl  and  fish.  They 
afterward  successively  passed  the  Gallipagos  Islands,  Masafuero,  and 
Juan  Fernandez. 

On  the  24th  of  March  they  gained  a  distant  view  of  the  lofty  coast  of 
Chili  to  the  westward,  in  latitude  32  degrees  53  minutes,  and  at  a  sup- 
posed distance  of  forty  leagues,  the  immense  mountains  of  the  Andes. 
Their  destination  was,  however,  the  Bay  of  Valparaiso,  which  they  reached 
next  day. 

St.  Jago,  the  capital  of  Chili,  is  stated  to  have  been  founded  on  the 
12th  of  February,  1541.  This  city  is  the  residence  of  the  president,  who 
is  captain-general  of  the  whole  kingdom,  and  governor  and  presiding 
judge  of  the  audience-chamber  or  court  of  justice.  It  is  said  to  contain 
30,500  inhabitants.  The  subordinate  cities  in  this  great  kingdom  are 
Coquimbo,  Chilian,  Conception,  and  Valdivia  ;  and  the  principal  towns 
are  Valparaiso,  Capiapo,  Vallenar,  St.  Francisco  de  Boria,  St.  Raphael 
de  la  Rosa,  La  Ligua,  Quillota,  Los  Andes,  Melipilla,  St.  Joseph,  An- 
concagua,  St.  Ferdinand,  Curico,  Talca,  Linares,  Nueva,  Bilboa,  Cau- 
geres,  and  others  of  less  importance.  The  kingdom  of  Chili  is  stated  to 
extend,  in  a  northern  and  southern  direction,  from  the  uninhabited  parts 
of  Atacama,  which  divides  it  from  the  vice-royalty  of  Peru,  to  the  Straits 
of  Magellan;  and,  in  a  western  and  eastern  direction,  from  the  ocean  to 
the  foot  of  the  Cordilleras,  which  divides  it  from  the  vice-royalty  of 
Buenos  Ayres.  There  is  about  a  million  of  specie  coined  at  St.  Jago 
every  year,  which  is  the  fund  from  whence  the  salaries  of  the  state  offi- 
cers, the  military  establishment,  and  other  incidental  expenses  of  the 
government  are  defrayed.  The  army  consists  of  a  battalion  of  infantry  in 
Conception,  two  squadrons  of  horse,  one  company  of  dragoons,  and  two 
of  artillery.  The  cavalry  are  all  well-mounted,  and  extremely  expert 
horsemen ;  and  were  they  as  skilful  in  the  use  of  fire-arms  as  they  are  ia 


346  troYAOES  notrJifi  the  World. 

the  management  of  the  sword  and  the  lance,  they  would  not  be  inferior 
to  any  troops  of  this  description  in  Europe. 

The  exterior  commerce  of  the  kingdom  is  principally  carried  on  from 
the  seaports  of  Conception,  Coquimbo,  and  Valparaiso  ;  but  the  latter 
has  the  greatest  share  of  trade,  arising  from  its  central  situation  and  its 
vicinity  to  the  capital.  The  measured  distance  between  St.  Jawo  and 
Buenos  Ayres  they  could  not  learn,  but  understood  that  the  post  travels 
from  thence  to  the  capital  of  Chili  in  twenty  days  ;  and  that  the  country, 
from  Buenos  Ayres  until  it  reaches  the  foot  of  the  Cordilleras,  which  run 
in  a  northern  and  southern  direction,  and  pass  to  the  eastward  of  St. 
Jago,  is  one  entire  desert,  without  trees  or  any  other  sort  of  vegetation, 
and  that  it  is  so  completely  a  level  plain,  that  even  a  hillock  does  not  ap-* 
pear  on  its. surface.  The  nearest  silver  mine  to  St.  Jago  is  at  the  dis- 
tance of  about  seven  leagues,  and  the  nearest  gold  mine  is  to  the  north- 
east df  the  city,  at  the  distance  of  about  thirty  leagues. 

The  houses  in  Valparaiso,  on  account  of  the  earthquakes  which  fre- 
quently happen  in  South  America,  like  those  in  St.  Jago,  consist  of  the 
ground-floor  only ;  the  walls  are  built  with  mud,  and  plastered  over  with 
a  preparation  of  Ume  ;  they  aire  convenient,  well  adapted  to  the  climate, 
and  are  in  general  handsomely  furnished.  In  the  town  and  in  the  village 
of  Almandrel  there  are  six  churches,  within  the  diocess  of  the  archbishop 
of  St.  Jago,  but  under  the  direction  of  a  vicar,  who  resides  at  Valparaiso, 
and  is  amenable  for  his  conduct  to  the  archbishop.  The  town  and  its 
neighbourhood  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  governor,  who  receives 
his  appointment,  with  a  salary  of  4000  dollars  per  annum,  from  the  King 
of  Spain  ;  but  he  is  nevertheless  under  the  immediate  orders  and  control 
of  the  captain-general.  All  civil  and  military  causes  are  heard  at  St. 
Jago.  Capital  o^ences  are  seldom  committed ;  a  man  was  found  guilty 
on  a  charge  of  felony,  and  hanged  about  three  years  before  their  arrival, 
a  punishment  that  was  seldom  known  to  he  inflicted. 

Nothing  particular  happened  in  the  voyage  round  Cape  Horn,  and 
thence  to  St.  Helena,  wbere  the  Discovery  arrived  on  the  2d  of  July,  the 
Chatham  having  got  thither  before  her.  Here,  in  consequence  of  the 
hostilities  with  Holland,  Captain  Vancouver  took  a  Dutch  East  Indiaman,- 
the  Macassar.  On  the  12th  of  September  made  the  western  coast  of 
Ireland  ;  when,  having  seen  the  Discovery  safely  moored  in  the  Shannon, 
he  proceeded  to  London,  resigning  the  command  of  the  ship  to  Lieutenant 
Baker,  and  taking  with  him  such  books,  papers,  and  charts,  as  were 
necessary  to  lay  before  the  lords  of  the  admiralty,  relative  to  the  ser- 
vices performed.  In  the  course  of  this  long  voyage  of  four  years  eight 
months  and  twenty-nine  days,  the  Discovery  lost  by  disease,  out  of  one 
hundred  men,  only  one,  and  five  by  accidents  ;  and  in  the  Chatham  not 
one  died  from  disease  or  otherwise. 


CAPTAIN  ETIENNE  MARCHAND.— 1790-92. 

Captain  Marchand,  hearing  of  the  success  of  some  voyages  to  the 
north-west  coast  of  America  for  furs,  by  English  adventurers,  proposed 
to  tjie  commercial  house  of  Baux,  in  Marseilles,  a  similar  expedition  ; 
which  being  agreed  to,  an  effective  ship,  the  Solide,  of  300  tons,  ten 
guns,  and  fifty  officers  and  seamen,  was  placed  under  his  command,  and 
he  sailed  from  Marseilles  the  14th  of  December,  1790."  January  15th, 
anchored  for  three  days  in  Port  Praya,  St.  Jago,  after  which  nothing  of 


EtiENNE  JIARCHANft.  347 

any  importance  occurred  till  they  saw  Staten  Land  from  the  mast-head 
the  Ist  of  April,  and  by  the  20th  had  sailed  quite  round  Terra  del 
Fuego  into  the  great  South  Sea,  when  they  encountered  the  first  heavy 
storm  so  common  in  these  regions. 

Want  of  water  compelled  him  to  shape  a  course  for  the  group  of 
islands  called  Marquesas,  discovered  by  Mendana  in  1595,  and  since 
visited  by  Cook.  June  12th,  discovered  them,  the  vicinity  of  land  ha- 
ving been  indicated  for  some  days  before  by  flights  of  terns,  sea-swallows, 
and  several  other  birds,  which  are  known  not  to  proceed  far  from  the 
shore.  Steering  for  the  Bay  of  Madre  de  Dios,  they  were  met  by  many 
natives  in  canoes  and  swimming,  blowing  conchs,  singing,  and  beating 
time  on  the  sides  of  the  canoes,  at  the  same  time  pointing  out  where 
water  was  to  be  procured.  Several  women  at  the  same  time  dis- 
played their  charms,  offering  them  by  no  unequivocal  signs  to  the  sea- 
men. Before  the  Solide  reached  the  bay,  a  flotilla  of  canoes  surrounded 
her,  many  having  come  even  from  the  Island  of  Dominica.  One  of  their 
old  men,  after  pronouncing  a  harangue,  tied  a  piece  of  white  cloth  in 
the  rigging,  understood  to  be  the  signal  of  peace,  and  crying  out,  Tayo  ! 
Tayo  !  meaning  friend.  Toys  were  distributed  freely  among  them,  and 
looking-glasses  excited  much  admiration  and  astonishment.  The  crowd 
soon  mcreased  so  much,  that  it  was  no  longer  possible  to  work  the  ship  • 
but  on  being  requested  to  retire,  they  complied  in  a  very  orderly  manneii, 
each  seeming  to  seek  his  own  island,  though  at  considerable  distances. 

Early  the  next  morning  the  ship  was  surrounded  by  above  300  natives, 
all  eager  to  go  on  board  ;  but  in  the  meantime  stripping  oflF,  with  their 
fingers  alone,  pieces  of  iron  and  copper,  which  it  would  have  required 
instruments  and  time  for  an  European  to  remove.  A  gun  was  fired  over 
their  heads  ;  but  instead  of  intimidating,  it  only  served  to  increase  their 
audacity  ;  a  shot,  which  struck  the  rocks,  had  for  a  moment  some  little 
effect,  till,  recovering  their  alarm,  several  threw  sticks  on  board,  and 
struck  their  lances  against  the  sides  of  the  ship  ;  one  snatched  a  musket 
from  one  of  the  men  protecting  the  boats,  and  others  attempted  to  remove 
the  leaden  pump  from  the  stern  ;  a  man  of  less  humanity  than  Marchand 
would  probably  have  answered  these  hostile  demonstrations  as  hostilely  ; 
but  only  firing  two  muskets  sufficiently  close  for  them  to  hear  the  balls 
whiz  over  their  heads,  order  was  in  some  degree  restored.  Women  and 
young  girls  in  hundreds  flocked  on  board,  anxious  to  dispose  of  their  per- 
sons for  nails,  beads,  and  other  trinkets  and  implements ;  and  lest  their 
overtures  should  not  be  sufficiently  understood,  the  men  were  eager  to 
become  their  interpreters.  A  blunderbuss  of  one  of  the  watering  party 
going  off,  accidentally  wounded  a  native  by  breaking  a  bone  of  the  arm ; 
this  excited  some  fear  among  them,  but  no  revenge  ;  the  surgeon,  Rob- 
let,  proceeding  on  shore  to  dress  it,  found  the  arm  very  skilfully  managed, 
so  as  to  display  no  small  share  of  surgical  knowledge  ;  presents  and 
caresses  were  given  to  prevent  any  unfavourable  impression  from  this 
unfortunate  occurrence. 

In  an  excursion  into  the  woods  the  same  day,  by  the  captain,  one  of 
the  natives  snatched  his  musket  and  ran  off ;  but,  in  attempting  to  pursue 
him,  was  immediately  recalled  by  the  danger  of  his  servant,  whom  he 
found  seized  by  half  a  dozen  islanders,  who  soon  let  go  their  hold,  though 
not  without  carrying  away  his  hat  and  a  box  he  had  under  his  arm.  By 
the  interference  of  a  chief,  however,  the  musket  was  restored  the  next 
day.  Several  fruits  and  vegetable  .refreshments  were  procured,  with 
abundance  of  water,  but  scarcely  a  hog  or  fowl ;  for,  though  they  did  not 


348  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

teem  scarce,  the  owners  would  not  part  with  them.  Marchand,  there* 
fore,  set  off  in  the  boats  for  some  other  bays  in  the  neighbourhood,  and 
at  the  second  in  his  way  procured  twelve  fine  hogs,  the  natives  civilly 
carrying  the  individuals  of  the  party  on  shore  and  on  board  again,  on 
account  of  a  dangerous  landing  place.  At  another  bay  they  were  not 
so  successful  in  their  pursuit,  though  received  equally  friendly  ;  several 
petty  thefts  were  committed,  but  on  the  whole  the  behaviour  of  the 
natives  was  friendly  in  a  marked  degree. 

Santa  Christina,  the  only  island  of  the  group  hitherto  visited,  is  about 
seven  leagues  in  circumference,  the  land  high  and  rocky,  the  latter  seenv-  • 
ing  of  a  volcanic  nature,  many  portions  of  it  barren,  and,  taken  on  the 
whole,  is  infinitely  less  fruitful  than  either  of  the  Society  Islands  ;  so 
that  the  people  have  by  no  means  the  superfluities  of  the  Olaheiteans. 
Bread  fruit  and  cocoa  nuts  are  here  much  more  scarce.  The  sugar-cane 
is,  however,  very  fine  5  also  a  large  species  of  chestnut.  The  islanders 
well  remembered  the  name  of  Captain  Cook,  who  touched  here  ;  but 
not  a  single  European  article  of  any  description  was  now  observed  among 
them,  and  to  almost  all  of  them  they  seemed  utter  strangers.  Rats  are 
excessively  numerous,  and  destroy  much  of  the  food  of  the  islanders ; 
the  hogs  arc  small,  but  sweet  and  well-tasted  ;  a  variety  of  birds  abound 
in  the  woods,  and  enliven  them  with  their  songs ;  rock-fish  are  in  plenty 
in  the  bay ;  and  the  shark  is  little  regarded  by  the  islanders,  who  swim 
about  seemingly  regardless  of  its  fierce  and  ravenous  attacks. 

The  people  are  confessedly  the  finest  race  in  the  South  Sea  for  beauty 
of  person,  the  whole  being  very  tall,  well-formed,  inclining  to  corpulency 
without  being  so,  their  chests  and  shoulders  broad,  their  limbs  muscular, 
and  their  activity  on  land  or  in  water  equally  remarkable  ;  the  common 
height  is  about  five  feet  ten  inches,  but  great  numbers  exceed  six 
feet.  Their  colour  is  a  bright  brown,  their  hair  of  several  shades,  as 
flaxen,  auburn,  black,  either  long  or  curling.  The  countenance  is  open 
and  frank,  the  nose  being  either  flat  or  acquiline,  the  eyes  large  and  black, 
and  the  teeth  regular.  They  are  in  general  naked,  except  a  piece  of  cloth, 
made  of  the  bark  of  a  tree,  tied  round  the  loins  for  the  sake  of  modesty  ; 
but  tattooing  is  so  general,  and  so  well  and  neatly  executed,  that  this 
might  almost  be  fancied  a  species  of  clothing  of  itself.  The  women  are 
equally  remarkable  for  beauty  of  person ;  their  clothing  is  not  much 
more,  but  the  tattooing  considerably  less  than  in  the  other  sex  ;  in  fact, 
clothing  is  an  encumbrance,  as  much  of  their  time  is  spent  in  the  water. 
The  licentiousness  of  the  greater  part  is,  however,  shameless  and  disgust- 
ing ;   even  children  of  eight  years  old  were  publicly  prostituted. 

Their  weapons  are  lances,  a  sort  of  sabre,  pikes  or  javehns,  and  clubs  ; 
their  canoes  are  rude  and  ill  formed,  bearing  no  comparison  to  the  ele- 
gance of  those  of  Otahcite.  The  houses  are  built  on  stone  platforms 
rai.sed  from  the  ground,  as  if  they  were  exposed  to  inundations  from  the 
sea  ;  and  likewise  they  use  very  curious  stilts,  apparently  for  the  same 
reason,  on  which  they  stalk  about  with  great  expedition.  The  scoop-net 
and  sweep-net  constitute  their  fishing  implements  ;  their  hatchet  is  of  a 
hard  species  of  stone  ;  their  household  utensils  consist  of  calabashes  and 
various  others,  formed  of  wood  ;  and  the  great  article  of  cloth  is  made 
from  the  bark  of  the  paper  mulberry  tree. 

June  20ih,  at  midnight,  quilted  the  anchorage  of  Santa  Christina,  and 
next  morning  discovered  high  land  in  the  north-west  quarter,  adjoining 
which  were  several  isles,  upon  which  the  officers  and  seamen  conferred 
the  name  of  Isle  Marchand.     Some  sandy  bays  were  perceived,  with  a 


feTlENNE  MARCHANi).  349 

ffew  rivulets  of  fine  water  running  into  them  :  a  fev7  natives  came  on 
board,  some  without  hesitation,  others  with  the  strongest  symptoms  of 
terror  ;  they  spoke  the  same  language,  were  of  the  same  colour,  and  in 
other  respects  differed  little  or  nothing  from  those  of  Santa  Christina, 
this  being  merely  an  extension  of  the  Marquesas  group  ;  but  they  seem- 
ed utterly  unacquainted  with  their  visiters,  or  with  European  commodi- 
ties ;  for  among  them  all  they  preferred  glass  bottles  to  everything  else. 
Appearances  of  other  islands  were  distinguished,  one  of  which,  to  wind* 
ward,  he  could  not  reach,  but  called  it  Baux's  Island,  after  the  owners  of 
his  ship  ;  two  others,  not  much  elevated  above  the  surface  of  the  water, 
were  named  the  Two  Brothers  ;  while  two  more  received  the  appella- 
tions of  Masse's  and  Chanal's  Islands,  after  the  first  and  second  officers 
of  the  Solide.  The  cluster  had  given  to  it  the  general  name  of  the  Re- 
volution Islands.  Marchand's  Isle  is  about  ten  or  eleven  leagues  in  cir- 
cumference, Baux's  about  fifteen  ;  the  former  in  9  degrees  21  minutes 
south  latitude,  142  degrees  19  minutes  west  longitude  ;  the  latter  in  8 
degrees  48  minutes  south  latitude,  142  degrees  31  minutes  west  longitude. 
June  25th,  lost  sight  of  these  islands,  steering  for  the  north-west  coast 
of  America.  Indications  of  land,  such  as  birds,  sea-weed,  drift-wood 
not  long  in  the  water,  and  obscurities  in  the  horizon,  which,  however, 
they  had  not  time  to  examine,  were  perceived  occasionally  during  the  run  to 
the  American  coast,  which  was  seen  on  the  evening  of  the  7th  of  August, 
near  to  Cape  Engana,  or  Edgcombe.  They  anchored  at  Pitt's  Island,  in 
Norfolk  Sound,  called  by  the  natives  Tchinkatanay,  and  next  morning 
about  140  men,  women,  and  children,  came  round  the  ship  singing,  which,  it 
seems,  is  their  usual  practice  on  first  becoming  acquainted  with  strangers, 
bringing  some  furs,  which  they  seemed  very  well  to  know  the  value  of 
by  the  price  demanded.  In  this  traffic  they  have  already  acquired  great 
skill  and  finesse,  showing  off  their  articles  to  the  best  advantage,  and 
examining  and  detecting  the  faults  of  those  given  to  them  in  return  with 
great  minuteness.  Woollen  clothes  were  in  the  greatest  request,  many 
of  the  natives  being  entirely  clothed  with  them,  of  English  manufacture  : 
they  obstinately  adhered  to  what  they  considered  the  value  of  their  skins, 
and  even  when  the  ship  was  preparing  to  depart  would  not  reduce  the 
price  ;  one  hundred  otter-skins  prime,  two  hundred  and  fifty  cub  otter- 
skins,  thirty-six  whole  bear-skins,  fifteen  half  skins,  thirty-seven  seal- 
skins, sixty  bearer  and  racoon-skins,  a  bag  of  squirrel-skins,  a  carpet  of 
mountain  rat-skins,  and  a  quantity  of  otter-skins  cut  into  slips  and  worn, 
constituted  their  purchase  here  ;  the  latitude  of  the  cove  where  the  ship 
lay  was  57  degrees  4  minutes  north,  and  longitude  137  degrees  59  minutes 
west.  Tchinkatanay  Bay  is  well  protected  by  high  mountains  on  all 
sides,  their  summits  covered  with  snow  which  appears  never  to  melt,  and 
their  brows  with  wood  which  never  comes  under  the  axe.  The  sea-otter, 
on  which  skin  the  Chinese  place  so  much  value,  is  about  two  feet  ten 
inches  in  length,  the  tail  about  twelve  or  thirteen  inches  ;  the  fur  is  ex- 
tremely beautiful,  and  for  a  prime  skin  from  sixty  to  ninety  dollars  are 
sometimes  given  at  Canton.  Its  beauty  varies  in  some  measure  with 
the  season  ;  those  killed  in  March,  April,  and  May,  being  esteemed  the 
best ;  black  is  the  general  colour,  but  there  are  many  of  a  brownish  hue  ; 
the  weight  of  the  body,  which,  though  insipid,  is  eaten  by  the  natives,  is 
from  seventy  to  eighty  pounds.  The  natives  of  this  bay  were  rather 
short  in  stature,  their  noses  snubbed  and  sharp,  their  eyes  small  and  sunk 
in  the  head,  their  cheek-bones  prominent,  their  faces  round,  their  colour 
teddish  or  of  a  light  brown,  but  dirt  and  the  admixture  of  various  pig- 

30 


350  VdlrAdsis  iiotjfjt)  tiIe  W6itti). 

ments  render  it  difficult  to  determine  precisely  what  their  natural  huo  is. 
Their  favourite  weapon  is  a  metal  dagger,  fifteen  or  sixteen  inches  long, 
in  which  they  take  no  little  pride,  keeping  it  always  in  the  highest  polish. 
They  take  two  meals  a  day,  about  noon  and  in  the  evening,  before  which 
periods  they  regularly  left  the  ship  to  be  on  shore  in  good  time.  They 
treat  the  women  with  attention,  not  giving  them  the  laborious  work  which 
is  imposed  by  some  other  tribes  on  the  coast  of  North-West  America  ; 
and  the  men  likewise  seem  to  feel  pleasure  in  nursing  their  offspring, 
which  is  not  often  the  case  among  savages.  The  women  are  reserved 
and  modest ;  and  the  men,  as  may  be  supposed  from  this  circumstance) 
rather  jealous,  forming  a  remarkable  contrast  to  the  people  of  the  South 
Sea  Islands,  and  showing  the  superiority  in  moral  feeling  of  the  people 
of  a  cold  or  temperate  to  those  of  a  tropical  climate,  both  being  equally 
savages,  and,  of  course,  ignorant  of  the  decencies  of  civilized  life.  Their 
language  is  excessively  harsh  and  uncouth,  requiring  at  once  a  strong 
nasal  aspiration  and  a  guttural  effort ;  it  seems,  however,  from  what 
could  be  collected,  that  it  is  copious  and  varied,  from  the  nicety  with 
which  the  most  minute  parts  of  an  animal,  or  other  trivial  things,  were 
called  and  described. 

Marchand  quitted  this  place  the  21st  of  August  for  Queen  Charlotte's 
Islands,  and  distinguished  Cloak  Bay,  where  he  anchored  ;  tvpt  found  few 
skins,  a  vessel  having  been  there  recently,  which  had  carried  them  all  off. 
A  chief  invited  them  to  visit  his  habitation,  forming  a  parallelogram,  iroin. 
forty-five  to  fifty  feet  in  front  by  thirty-five  in  depth.  Six,  eight,  or  ten 
trees,  cut  and  planted  in  each  front,  form  the  enclosure  of  a  habitation,  and 
are  fastened  to  each  other  by  planks  ten  inches  in  width  ;  the  partitions,  six 
or  seven  feet  high,  are  surmounted  by  a  roof  a  little  sloped  ;  in  the  middle 
of  the  roof  is  made  a  large  square  opening,  affording  at  once  entrance  to 
the  light  and  an  exit  to  the  smoke  ;  there  are  also  sometimes  a  few  small 
openings  in  the  sides.  These  houses  have  two  stories,  though  only  one 
visible,  the  lower  one  being  in  fact  under  ground^  the  descent  to  which 
is  by  half  a  dozen  of  steps,  and  here  they  reside  during  the  winter.  To 
one  of  the  boats  despatched  to  trade  came  a  chief  and  several  of  his 
tribe,  who,  though  possessed  of  several  skins,  seemed  disinchned  to  part 
with  them,  except  at  a  high  price,  repeating  frequently  the  name  of  Eng' 
lishmen,  as  if  they  would  give  more  than  their  present  visiters.  The 
arms  supplied  by  them  were  in  general  so  bad,  that  one  discharge  with  a 
ball  or  shot  v/ould  probably  have  burst  them.  At  length,  when  the  boats 
seemed  prepared  to  depart,  the  natives,  who  had  hitherto  held  out  for 
fire-arms,  or  blankets  and  woollen  clothing,  were  wilUng  to  accept  less 
valuable  articles,  such  as  boilers,  pewter  basins,  pots,  kettles,  and  a  variety 
of  other  things  of  a  similar  nature. 

While  they  were  quitting  the  place,  a  brig,  about  200  tons  burthenj 
with  a  tender  along  with  her,  hove  in  sight ;  but  showing  no  colours  anri 
Marchand  not  wishing  to  speak  with  any  stranger,  no  intercourse  took 
place  between  them  ;  but,  from  the  accounts  of  the  natives,  they  turned 
out  to  be  English.  Fish,  particularly  of  the  shell  kind,  are  numerous 
here  ;  water  also  is  plentiful,  and  of  excellent  quahty  ;  seals  sport  about 
in  the  bay  ;  whales  appear  off  its  mouth  ;  birds  are  very  numerous  ;  but 
the  only  quadruped  observed  was  the  dog.  The  natives  are  very  fond 
of  gambling,  by  means  of  thirty  small  sticks  variously  disposed ;  their 
women  were  modest,  any  intercourse  that  took  place  with  the  seamen 
being  entirely  from  interested  motives,  and  evidently  not  from  constitu- 
tional incitements.     Another  boat  was  now  despatched  down  to  Rennell's 


iJTlfiMNE  Marchand.  351 

Strait,  to  try  for  furs  there,  their  success  hitherto  being  much  inferior  to 
their  expectations  ;  a  good  harbour  was  called  after  the  second  officer, 
Chanal's  Harbour  ;  but,  after  a  fatiguing  excursion  for  several  days,  very 
few  skins  could  be  procured.  The  Solfde's  course  was  now  directed  to 
Berkeley's  Sound,  in  latitude  49  degrees,  most  other  spots  seeming  to 
have  been  already  stripped  of  their  commodities  by  English  rivals. 

September  4th,  got  sight  of  the  land  in  this  neighbourhood,  and  the 
next  evening  anchored  ;  on  the  morning  of  the  7th  they  sa\V  five  canoes 
approaching  them,  with  six  or  seven  men  in  each,  who,  having  no  skins 
themselves,  directed  the  ship  to  proceed  in  a  direction  they  pointed  out, 
where  several  were  to  be  procured.  These  people  were  fairer  than  those 
on  that  part  of  the  coast  they  had  left ;  and  their  canoes,  besides  being 
larger,  were  constructed  in  a  very  superior  manner.  Standing  in  to 
Berkeley's  Sound  the  day  afterward,  Marchand  perceived  a  three-masted 
Vessel  coming  Out,  when,  finding  himself  anticipated  here  as  well  as  to 
the  northward,  and  the  stranger  also  standing  to  the  southward,  whither 
he  intended  to  go,  he  thought  farther  competition  would  not  turn  out 
successful,  and  that  the  only  chance  of  making  the  voyage  profitable  was 
to  proceed  at  once  to  China,  and  sell  his  skins  before  there  was  any  com- 
petition in  the  market.  The  officers  agreeing  in  the  propriety  of  this 
resolution,  they  set  sail  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  in  order  to  take  in 
refreshments  for  the  remainder  of  the  voyage. 

October  4th,  made  Owyhee,  the  chief  of  the  group.  Dreading  the 
character  for  enterprise  and  courage  acquired  by  these  islanders,  Mar- 
chand thought  it  the  most  expeditious  and  safest  plan  to  purchase  his 
refreshments  under  sail,  with  which  he  was  liberally  supplied  for  iron  and 
other  wares  ;  but  among  the  cargoes  of  hogs  brought  off'  were  intermixed 
many  women,  whom,  however,  the  Solide's  crew  very  wisely  declined  to 
admit  on  board.  The  famous  mountain  Mowna  Roa,  in  Owyhee,  was  per- 
ceived by  the  Solide  about  forty-six  leagues  distant  from  the  island  and  more 
than  fifty  from  its  summit,  and  is  computed  to  be  from  15,600  to  ]6,02Q 
feet  high,  being  the  highest  mountain  on  the  globe,  except  Himmaleh 
and  CimboraKO.  The  mountain  of  Mowee  is  nearly  half  this  height  ; 
Atooi  is  also  much  elevated,  being  distinguished  thirty  leagues  off.  Ori 
the  7th  quitted  the  Sandwich  Islands  for  the  run  across  the  Pacific 
Ocean  ;  and  on  the  3d  of  November  made  the  Island  of  Tinian,  between 
which  and  Saypan  he  intended  to  pass  to  clear  the  archipelago,  but 
ultimately  ran  to  the  northward  of  Saypan  ;  this  cluster,  though  called 
by  Magellan,  their  discoverer,  Ladrone  (or  Thieves')  Islands,  arc  also 
known  now  by  the  name  of  Mary  Ann  Islands.  On  the  17th  of  Novem- 
ber saw  the  Islands  of  Botel  Tobago  Xima,  situated  at  the  south  end  of 
Formosa ;  and  three  days  afterward  found  the  ship  in  the  midst  of  a 
fleet  of  Chinese  fishing-boats,  the  owner  of  one  of  which,  for  seventy 
dollars,  promised  to  pilot  them  to  Macao,  in  the  road  of  which  the  anchof 
was  dropped  on  the  25th.  On  comparing  dates,  it  appeared  they  had  lost 
a  day  by  sailing  round  the  world  by  the  west,  and,  instead  of  the  26th, 
was  obliged,  next  day,  to  write  Sunday,  the  27th. 

Here  the  speculation  of  the  voyage  turned  out  truly  unfortunate,  the 
sale  of  skins  being  prohibited  in  consequence,  as  it  was  supposed,  of  a 
new  treaty  of  commerce  with  Russia,  by  Which  the  furs  of  the  latter  were 
to  have  a  preference.  Two  vessels  were  already  here  with  cargoes  of 
these  articles,  which  could  not  be  sold  ;  Marchand  therefore  determined 
to  proceed  at  once  to  the  Isle  of  France  ;  had  there  been  even  permission 
to  dispose  of  the  lading,  the  price  of  prime  otter-skins  had  fallen  from 


333  VOYAGES  HOUND  THE  WORLD. 

sixty  to  fifteen  dollars  the  preceding  year.  While  here  an  Americall 
vessel  came  in,  the  captain  of  which  had  been  at  the  Marquesas  a  month 
before  Marchand,  but  without  landing  ;  and  who  afterward,  in  proceeding 
to  the  north-west,  had  observed  in  May  that  group  which,  next  month, 
Marchand  examined  and  called  Revolution  Islands.  He  therefore  was 
anticipated  in  the  discovery  without  knowing  it :  but  the  American  had 
made  no  effort  to  have  any  intercourse  with  the  natives,  or  to  examine 
the  new  lands. 

December  6th,  quitted  Macao,  and  directed  the  course  so  as  to  strike 
the  bank  of  the  Macclesfield  shoal  by  sounding,  in  the  middle  of  the  China 
sea  ;  on  the  llth  saw  the  Island  of  Pulo  Sapata,  and  four  days  afterward 
that  of  Pulo  Timoan,  Pulo  Pisang,  and  several  others  connected  with  the 
latter,  which  form  high  land,  distinguishable  at  a  considerable  distance. 
The  18th,  distinguished  the  Island  of  Banca,  and  passed  through  Caspar's 
Straits  with  safety,  though  then  httle  known  to  French  navigators,  except 
by  name  ;  a  week  afterward  got  sight  of  the  coast  of  the  great  Island  of 
Sumatra,  and,  passing  tliroughthe  Straits  of  Sunda,  made  sail  for  the  Isle 
of  France  ;  firat  seeing,  however,  the  Cocos  Islands,  in  1 1  degrees  54 
minutes  south  latitude,  a  small  group  thrown  165  leagues  to  the  south- 
west of  Flat  Pouit,  the  most  southern  of  Sumatra.  After  making  Rodri- 
guez Island,  situated  100  leagues  directly  to  windward  of  the  Isle  of 
France,  the  Solide  reached  the  latter  the  30th  of  January,  anchoring  in 
Port  Louis,  or  Port  North- West,  the  principal  harbour  of  that  island,  after 
being  thirteen  months  and  a  half,  with  the  exception  of  thirty  days,  con- 
stantly under  sail. 

At  this  place  they  remained  till  the  18th  of  April,  when,  getting  under 
weigh,  the  Solide  reached  St.  Denis,  in  the  Island  of  Reunion,  or  Bour- 
bon, situated  ninety  miles  to  leeward  of  the  former,  remarkable  for 
producing  fine  coffee  and  cotton.  May  1 6th,  passed  Cape  Aiguillas,  in 
Southern  Africa,  steering  for  the  Island  of  St.  Helena,  at  which  Marchand 
cast  anchor  the  4th  of  June.  This  land  is  sufficiently  high  to  be  discerned 
in  clear  weather  at  the  distance  of  twenty  leagues.  It  presents  at  first 
sight  nothing  but  a  heap  of  craggy  rocks,  with  here  and  there  valleys  be- 
tween. On  Sugar-loaf  Point  is  seen  a  small  fort,  past  which  it  is  necessary 
to  proceed,  on  which  is  this  warning  to  ships  coming  in — "  Send  the  ship's 
boat  on  shore  " — which,  if  neglected,  the  fort  will  sometimes  fire  at  the 
offender. 

James  Town,  the  only  one  in  the  island,. and  situated  in  a  valley  of 
the  same  name,  is  commanded  by  two  hills  on  each  side  and  above  it,  that 
on  the  right  being  Rupert's,  and  that  on  the  left  Ladder  Hill.  Several 
batteries  and  redoubts  scattered  in  every  practicable  place,  M'ith  the  steep- 
ness of  the  shores,  and  the  difficulty,  or,  indeed,  impossibility,  of  ascend- 
ing the  rocks,  render  landing  by  an  enemy  utterly  impracticable.  The 
island  is  therefore  impregnable,  for  the  battery  of  Ladder  Hill  alone  would 
sink  any  vessel  in  the  roads,  or  destroy  any  boats  that  attempted  a  dis- 
embarcation.  All  vessels  that  require  more  than  twenty  casks  of  water 
pay  anchorage  dues,  amounting  to  twenty  dollars,  or  five  pounds  ;  foreign- 
ers are  not  charged  higher  than  the  English  Indiamen.  In  1791  and 
1 792  a  great  drought  afflicted  the  island,  which  caused  extreme  loss  and 
distress.  In  1789  were  reckoned  here  3000  head  of  cattle,  besides  con- 
siderable numbers  of  sheep,  goats,  and  poultry,  and  suppUes  of  potatoes 
and  other  vegetables  ;  but  the  drought  of  the  succeeding  years  destroyed 
more  than  half  of  the  live  stock. 

The  island  is  situated  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  300  leagues  from  Cap© 


MISSIONARY  VOYAGE.  353 

Negro,  the  nearest  point  of  Africa,  and  600  from  Cape  Augustine,  in 
South  America  ;  it  is  about  twenty-eight  miles  in  circumference,  and 
seems  only  the  calcined  summit  of  an  isolated  mountain  of  very  great 
height  from  its  base  in  the  ocean,  as  the  sea,  at  a  little  distance  from  its 
shores,  is  unfathomable  ;  nor  is  there  any  land  nearer  to  it  than  700  miles. 
The  population  at  this  time  consisted  of  2000  whites,  about  600  soldiers, 
and  the  same  number  of  slaves. 

On  the  20th  of  June  crossed  the  line  in  25  degrees  west  longitude  from 
Paris,  and  on  the  2d  of  August  saw  the  land  of  Europe,  near  to  Cape 
St.  Vincent ;  on  the  14th  anchored  in  the  inner  harbour  of  Toulon,  after 
an  absence  of  twenty  months,  being  the  shortest  voyage  round  the  world 
yet  etfected. 


MISSIONARY  VOYAGE.— 1796-98. 

[The  following  voyage,  though  not  strictly  round  the  world,  is  so  connected 
with  our  subject — and  besides  so  novel  in  its  design,  and  so  truly  benevolent 
and  Christian-like  in  its  object — that  we  cannot  withhold  it  from  our  readers  ; 
particularly  as  a  more  general  knowledge  of  its  details  must  highly  interest  a 
community  so  eminently  Christian  as  our  nation,  and  perhaps  add  to  the  funds 
of  a  society,  in  every  point  of  view,  so  deserving  of  support  and  respect.] 

The  discoveries  made  in  the  great  southern  sea  by  the  voyages  under- 
taken at  the  command  of  his  majesty,  George  the  Third,  excited  wonderful 
attention,  and  brought,  as  it  were,  into  light  a  world  till  then  almost  un- 
known. Islands,  it  may  be  said,  innumerable  were  found  to  cover  the 
bosom  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  in  difierent  groups.  The  merchant  considered 
if  they  would  afford  any  object  of  commerce  ;  the  naturalist  eagerly  ex- 
plored the  peculiar  subject  of  his  researches,  and  the  astronomer  sought 
a  station  from  whence  he  might  observe  the  transit  of  Venus  over  the 
sun,  and  deduce  from  thence  useful  improvement  in  the  celestial  science. 
Reflections  on  their  unhappy  situation  had  dropped  from  the  pen  of  the 
humane,  and  pity  had  often  swelled  the  bosom  of  the  compassionate  :  a 
few  felt  for  them,  not  only  as  men,  but  as  Christians,  and  wished  some 
mode  could  be  devised  of  communicating  to  them  the  knowledge  of  that 
inestimable  book,  compared  with  which  all  besides  is  pompous  ignorance, 
and  all  the  treasures  of  the  earth  lighter  on  the  balance  than  vanity  itself. 
A  Missionary  Society  was  in  consequence  formed  in  England,  and  zea- 
lously seconded  by  their  brethren  in  North  Britain. 

On  notifying  their  intentions  to  the  public,  they  met  a  spirit  of  zeal  and 
liberality  highly  encouraging  ;  applications  manifold  were  poured  in  of 
candidates  for  the  mission,  with  subscriptions  adequate  to  the  undertaking. 
None  but  men  the  most  select  for  piety  were  to  be  admitted  ;  but  especial- 
ly adepts  in  such  useful  arts  and  occupations  as  would  make  them  most 
acceptable  to  the  heathen  in  that  state  of  inferior  civilization  to  which 
they  were  advanced.  Thirty  men,  six  women,  and  three  children,  were 
approved,  and  presented  to  the  directors  for  the  commencement  of  tho 
mission. 

List  of  the  Missionaries  who  embarked  on  hoard  the  Duff,  at  Blachoall 

NO.  NAMES.  AGE.  OCCUPATIONS. 

1  Rev.  James  Fleet  Cover,       .     34  Ordained  "Minister. 

3 John  Eyre,        .         .         28       Do.  Do. 

3  John  Jefferson,     .         .     36      Do.  Dq. 


354 


VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 


NO.         .  NAMES. 

4  Rev.  Thomas  Lewis, 


5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
-18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 


Mr. 


Henry  Bicknell, 

•  Daniel  Bowell,     . 
Benj.  Broomhall, 
John  Buchanan,   . 
James  Cooper, 

•  John  Cock, 

■  William  Crook, 

■  Samuel  Clode,  , 
John  A.  Gillhara, 
Peter  Hodges,     . 

•  William  Henry, 
John  Harris,  . 
Hudden,     . 
Samuel  Harper, 
Rowland  Hassell, 
Seth  Kelso,     . 
Edward  Main,     . 
Isaac  Nobbs, 
Henry  Nort, 
Francis  Oakes, 
James  Puckey,     . 
William  Puckey, 
William  Smith,    . 
William  Shelly, 
George  Veeson,  . 
James  Wilkinson, 


81  Mrs.  Mary  Cover, 

32  Elizabeth  Eyre, 

33  Elizabeth  Hassell, 

34  Sarah  Henry,  . 

35  Mary  Hodges, 

36  Hudden,  . 

37  James  Cover, 

38  Thomas  Hassell, 

39  Samuel  Otoo  Hassell,  . 


AGE.  OCCUPATIONS. 

.     31  Ordained,  and  has    attended    the 

hospitals  and  dispensaries,  and 

understands  printing. 

29 J  House-carpenter,  sawyer,  and 

.     22  Shopkeeper.  [wheelwright. 

20  Buckle  and  harness-maker. 
.     31  Tailor. 

28  Shoemaker. 

.     23  Carpenter.  [worker. 

21  Gentleman's  servent,  and  since  tin- 
.     35  Whitesmith  and  gardener. 

22  Surgeon. 

,     29  Smith  and  brazier.  ■ 

23  Carpenter  and  joiner. 
39  Cooper. 

.     —  Butcher. 

26  Cotton  manufacturer. 
.     27  Indian  weaver. 

48  Weaver. 
.     24  Tailor,  (late  of  the  Royal  Artillery.) 

24  Hatter. 

.     22  Bricklayer. 

25  Shoemaker. 
.     25  Carpenter. 

20  Carpenter. 

.     21  Linen-draper. 

21  Cabinet-maker. 
,     24  Bricklayer. 

27  Carpenter  and  joiner. 

WOMEN. 

.     37  Wife  of  J.  F.  Cover. 

64 John  Eyre. 

.     29 Rowland  Hassell. 

23 William  Henry. 

.     25 P.  Hodges. 

• Hudden. 

CHILDREN. 

.     12  Son  of  J.  F.  Cover. 

2 Rowland  Hassell. 

16  weeks.  Do. 


Captain  Wilson  and  the  first  mate,  his  nephew,  were  persons  in  every 
view  equal  to  the  undertaking,  and  as  hearty  in  the  work  as  the  missiona- 
ries themselves.  Many  of  the  sailors  were  men  of  a  like  mind  ;  about 
half  were  communicants,  and  every  man  was  eager  to  beg  admittance, 
under  the  profession  of  wishing  to  be  instrumental  in  so  blessed  a  service, 
and  the  hope  that  he  should  gain  benefit  and  edification  to  his  own  soul. 

The  preparations  being  completed,  and  the  missionaries  ready  for  em- 
barcation,  the  directors  of  the  society  were  very  anxious  for  the  Duflf's 
sailing  with  the  East  India  convoy.  They  now  took  their  final  departure 
from  Portsmouth,  and  launched  forth  on  the  great  deep  the  24th  of 
September,  1796.  The  signal  for  sailing  being  given,  the  missionaries 
came  on  deck,  and  every  countenance  seemed  elated  with  joy  at  the 
thought  of  soon  being  employed  in  the  great  work. 


MISSIONARY  VOYAGE.  355 

Proceeding  fast  to  the  southward,  on  the  13th  of  October,  about  nine, 
A.  M.,  they  saw  Sal,  which  is  the  northernmost  of  the  Cape  de  Verde 
Isles  ;  it  has  a  sun-burnt  appearance,  insomuch  that,  as  they  sailed  along 
to  the  eastward,  about  three  miles  off  shore,  there  was  not  a  tree  or  green 
spot  to  be  seen.  With  pleasant  weather,  all  sails  set,  and  a  fine  fair 
wind,  by  eleven,  A.  M.,  could  discern  St.  Jago  off  the  deck.  At  one, 
P.  M.,  passed  the  south-east  point,  and  half  an  hour  after  tacked  close  to 
Green  Island  ;  then  made  two  short  tacks,  and  came-to  with  the  small 
bower  in  eight  fathoms. 

18th.  Having  completed  their  refreshments  here,  and  afresh  taken  their 
departure,  at  a  Uttle  distance  off  the  island  a  fine  breeze  sprang  up,  and 
continued  from  east-south-east  to  east-north-east.  22d,  a  number  of 
sharks  were  playing  round  the  ship  ;  they  caught  two,  each  about  five 
feet  long ;  after  being  cut  into  pieces,  and  the  entrails  taken  out,  the 
heads  jumped  about  the  deck  for  a  considerable  time.  12th  of  November, 
at  daylight,  made  sail  and  ran  for  the  harbour  of  Rio  de  Janeiro ;  but  the 
breeze  failing,  and  the  tide  contrary,  it  was  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
before  they  reached  the  entrance.  When  nearly  there,  a  pilot-boat  came 
alongside,  in  which  was  the  head  harbour-master,  who  took  charge  of 
the  ship. 

Quitting  this  place,  they  now  proceeded  on  their  voyage,  in  hopes  of 
effecting  i,t  by  the  way  of  Cape  Horn,  which  was  their  original  intention. 
The  captain  had  laid  in  a  fresh  store  of  such  provisions  as  this  place 
afforded,  with  sugar,  wine,  and  whatever  might  be  necessary  in  the  long 
run  before  them.  20th.  Lord's  day.  Brothers  Eyre  and  Jefferson 
preached.  In  leaving  this  harbour,  and  again  launching  into  the  deep, 
they  thought  on  all  the  mercies  of  God,  who  had  dealt  so  wonderfully  with 
them,  and  protected  them  hitherto  in  safety  through  the  pathless  ocean  ; 
they  could,  with  humble  dependence,  trust  him  for  the  future. 

During  the  first  few  days  nothing  remarkable  occurred.  December  3d. 
In  the  morning  the  sea  ran  exceedingly  high,  and  the  wind  blew  a  com- 
plete storm,  which  reduced  them  to  a  close-reefed  main-topsail  and  fore- 
sail. Several  of  their  live  stock  died,  either  by  the  cold  or  the  spray  of 
the  sea,  so  that  they  were  in  danger  of  losing  the  whole  of  this  invaluable 
preservative  of  health.  Not  only  the  greater  part  of  the  missionaries 
were  sea-sick,  but  some  of  the  seamen  also.  Mrs.  Eyre,  already  ex- 
hausted by  continued  illness,  seemed  unable  long  to  sustain  these  greater 
trials.  Being  thus  situated,  the  captain  was  apprehensive  that,  in  per- 
severing in  their  endeavours  to  double  Cape  Horn,  their  raw,  unseasoned 
company  of  landmen,  women,  and  children,  might  fall  victims  to  the  re- 
peated storms  and  colder  weather,  which  they  might  expect  to  meet  with 
in  the  attempt.  Therefore,  the  captain,  after  deliberately  weighing  the  cir- 
cumstances, relinquished  a  plan  which,  to  execute,  required  a  ship's  crew 
of  hardy  sailors,  unaccompanied  by  tender  women  and  children,  and  adopt- 
ed the  resolution  of  going  the  eastern  passage  ;  that  is,  to  pass  a  few 
degrees  south  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  to  sail  to  the  southward  of  the 
south  capes  of  New  Holland  and  New  Zealand,  keeping  in  the  track  of 
the  westerly  winds  till  near  the  meridian  of  Otaheite,  and  then  to  steer 
to  the  northward  for  that  island.  The  missionaries  were  now  applying 
themselves  to  the  Otaheitean  language,  the  most  diligent  giving  pleasing 
proofs  of  their  desire  and  aptness  to  acquire  it.  A  part  of  each  day  was 
also  appropriated  to  reading  the  Rev.  Mr.  Greathead's  account  of  the 
South  Sea  Islands ;  this  they  styled  Missionary  Geography,  from  thence 
deriving  consKJerable  knowledge ;  their  minds  also  became  moreexercisedi 


356  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

and  a  difference  of  opinion  gradually  increased  concerning  the  propriety 
of  their  separating,  and  which  group  appeared  the  most  eUgible  and  safe 
to  settle  in  ;  some  preferred  the  Friendly  Isles,  and  others  Otaheite. 
John  Harris  alone  was  for  the  Marquesas  ;  he  had  long  ago  made  that 
choice,  and  still  remained  unshaken  in  his  resolution,  desiring  only  to 
have  one  or  two  to  accompany  him, -and  for  that  purpose  was  now  using  his 
interest  with  the  young  men,  few  of  whom  as  yet  seemed  inclined  to  settle 
at  the  Marquesas.  In  consequence  of  the  probability  of  such  a  separa- 
tion taking  place,  a  meeting  of  the  whole  body  of  missionaries  was  held, 
when,  after  a  long  conversation,  it  was  moved,  '*  That  eight  persons  and 
the  chairman  (the  captain)  be  chosen  to  draw  up  a  code  of  church  govern- 
ment for  the  future  conduct  of  their  little  society,  together  with  ceriaia 
religious  principles,  to  be  signed  by  every  individual." 

February  21st.  Ninety-seven  days  had  now  passed  since  they  left  Rio 
Janeiro,  and,  except  one  vessel  met  with  a  week  after  their  <leparture, 
they  had  not,  in  all  this  time,  seen  either  ship  or  shore,  and  had  sailed, 
by  log,  13,820  miles,  a  greater  distance  probably  than  was  ever  before 
run  without  touching  at  any  place  for  refreshment  or  seeing  land.  About 
seven  in  the  morning  Toobonai  was  discovered  from  the  fore-yard  by  one 
of  the  seamen,  bearing  south-east  by  east,  eight  or  nine  leagues  off,  show- 
ing at  this  distance  like  two  separate  islands.  This  island  was  discovered 
by  Captain  Cook  in  the  year  1777 ;  and  upon  it  the  unhappy  Fletcher 
Christian,  with  his  companions,  the  mutineers  of  the  Bounty,  attempted 
a  settlement  in  1789.  Having  frequently  discussed  the  subject  of  the 
separation  of  the  brethren  among  the  three  groups  of  islands,  the  Mar- 
quesas, the  Society,  and  Friendly  Islands  ;  February  27th,  being  the  day 
appointed,  the  society  met,  and  the  business  of  the  day  was  opened  in  the 
usual  manner,  when  there  appeared  for  each  group  as  in  the  following  list : 

Otaheite. — Reverends  J.  F.  Cover,  John  Eyre,  John  Jefferson,  Thomas 
Lewis  ;  Messrs.  H.  Bicknell,  B.  Broomhall,  J.  Cock,  S.  Clode,  J.  A. 
Gillham,  William  Henry,  P.  Hodges,  R.  Hassell,  E.  Main,  H.  Nort,  F. 
Oakes,  J.  Puckey,  William  Puckey,  William  Smith  ;  which,  with  five 
women  and  two  children,  make  in  all  twenty-five  for  Otaheite. 

Tongatahoo. — Messrs.  D.  Bowell,  J.  Buchanan,  J.  Cooper,  S.  Harper, 
S.  Kelso,  I.  Nobbs,  W.  Shelly,  G.  Veeson,  J.  Wilkinson,  —  Gaulton, 
(a  probationer.) 

Santa  Christina. — Messrs.  J.  Harris,  W.  Crook. 

Nothing  material  occurred  till  Saturday  morning,  March  4th,  when  they 
beheld  the  long  wished-for  island  of  Otaheite,  but  at  a  great  distance. 
The  morning  (Sunday)  was  pleasant,  and,  with  a  gentle  breeze,  they  had 
by  seven  o'clock  got  abreast  of  the  district  of  Atahourou,  whence  they 
saw  several  canoes  putting  off  and  paddling  toward  them  with  great  speed ; 
at  the  same  time  it  fell  calm,  which  being  in  their  favour,  they  soon 
counted  seventy- four  canoes,  many  of  them  double  ones,  containing  about 
twenty  persons  each.  Being  so  numerous,  they  endeavoured  to  keep 
them  from  crowding  on  board  ;  but,  in  spite  of  all  efforts  to  prevent  it, 
there  were  soon  not  less  than  100  of  them  dancing  and  capering  like 
frantic  persons  about  the  decks,  crying,  "  Tayo,  Tayo  !"  and  a  few  broken 
sentences  of  English  were  often  repeated.  They  had  no  weapons  of  any 
kind  among  them ;  however,  to  keep  them  in  awe,  some  of  the  great 
guns  were  ordered  to  be  hoisted  out  of  the  hold,  while  they,  as  free  from 
the  apprehension  as  the  intention  of  mischief,  cheerfully  assisted  to  put 
them  on  their  carriages.  When  the  first  ceremonies  were  over,  the  mis- 
sionaries began  to  view  their  new  friends  with  an  eye  of  inquiry  ;  their 


MISSIONARY  VOYAGE.  357 

wild  disorderly  behaviour,  strong  smell  of  the  cocoa  nut  oil,  together  with 
the  tricks  of  the  arreoies,  lessened  the  favourable  opinion  they  had  formed 
of  them  ;  neither  could  they  see  aught  of  that  elegance  and  beauty  in 
their  women  for  which  they  have  been  so  greatly  celebrated.  This  at 
first  seemed  to  depreciate  them  in  the  estimation  of  the  brethren ;  but 
the  cheerfulness,  good  nature,  and  generosity  of  these  kind  people  soon 
removed  the  momentary  prejudices.  One  very  old  man,  Manne  Manne, 
who  called  himself  a  priest  of  the  eatooa,  was  very  importunate  to  be 
tayo  with  the  captain  ;  others,  pretending  to  be  chiefs,  singled  out  such 
as  had  the  appearance  of  officers  for  their  tayos  ;  but  as  they  neither  ex- 
ercised authority  over  the  unruly,  nor  bore  the  smallest  mark  of  distinc- 
tion, they  thought  proper  to  dechne  their  proposals  till  they  knew  them 
and  the  nature  of  the  engagement  better.  At  this  they  seemed  astonished, 
but  still  more  when  they  saw  their  indifference  about  the  hogs,  fowls,  and 
fruit,  which  they  had  brought  in  abundance.  The  brethren  endeavoured 
to  make  them  understand,  that  this  was  the  day  of  eatooa,  and  that  in  it 
they  durst  not  trade  ;  but  their  women  repulsed,  occasioned  greater  won- 
der. They  continued  about  the  decks  till  the  transports  of  their  joy 
gradually  subsided,  when  many  of  them  left  of  their  own  accord,  and 
others  were  driven  away  by  the  old  man  and  one  named  .Mauroa,  who 
novy  exercised  a  little  authority.  Those  who  remained  were  chiefly  ar- 
reoies from  Ulietea,  in  number  about  forty  ;  and  being  brought  to  order, 
the  brethren  proposed  having  divine  service  upon  the  quarter-deck.  Mr. 
Cover  officiated  ;  he,  perhaps,  was  the  first  that  ever  mentioned  with 
reverence  the  Saviour's  name  to  these  poor  heathens.  Such  hymns  were 
selected  as  had  the  most  harmonious  tunes  ;  first,  "  O'er  the  gloomy  hills  of 
darkness  ;"  then,  •'  Blow  ye  the  trumpet,  blow ;"  and,  at  the  conclusion, 
"  Praise  God,  from  whom  all  blessings  flow."  The  text  was  from  the 
first  Epistle  general  of  John,  chap.  lii.  ver.  23.  *'  God  is  love."  The 
whole  service  lasted  about  an  hour  and  a  quarter.  During  sermon  and 
prayer  the  natives  were  quiet  and  thoughtful ;  but  when  the  singing  struck 
up,  they  seemed  charmed  and  filled  with  amazement ;  sometimes  they 
would  talk  and  laugh,  but  a  nod  of  the  head  brought  them  to  order. 
Upon  the  whole,  their  unweariness  and  quietness  were  astonishing ; 
and,  indeed,  all  who  heard  observed  a  peculiar  solemnity  and  excellence 
in  Mr.  Cover's  address  on  that  day. 

They  had  hitherto  received  very  unsatisfactory  answers  to  their  inqui- 
ries after  the  Matilda's  crew ;  but  at  last  saw  two  of  them  coming  in  a 
canoe  :  these  were  Swedes,  dressed  in  the  teboota  and  maro  as  the  na- 
tives, and  tattooed  also  about  the  legs  and  arms  :  having  got  on  board, 
they  were  called  into  the  cabin,  and  gave  the  following  account  of  them- 
selves : — The  youngest,  named  Andrew  Cornelius  Lind,  about  thirty 
years  of  age,  a  native  of  Stockholm,  said,  that  after  the  loss  of  the  Ma- 
tilda they  took  to  their  boats,  and  bearing  down  toward  Otaheite,  landed 
on  the  6th  of  March,  1792,  on  the  south  side  of  the  island  ;  they  were 
immediately  plundered  of  all  they  had,  but  afterward  treated  kindly  by 
the  natives.  Since  then  the  captain  and  most  of  the  crew  had  gone 
homeward  by  different  methods  ;  six  of  them  decked  one  of  their  boats, 
and  set  off  toward  New  Holland  ;  but  it  was  improbable  they  would  ever 
reach  thither.  The  other,  whose  name  is  Peter  Haggerstein,  aged  forty, 
a  native  of  Elsinfors  in  Swedish  Fmland,  was  left  here  by  Captain  New 
of  the  Dsdalus.  They  both  spoke  tolerably  good  English,  and  being 
well  acquainted  with  the  Otaheitean  tongue,  the  brethren  entertained  a 
hope  that  they  would  prove  of  great  service. 


358  VOYAGES  ROUND  .THE  WORLD. 

Almost  the  whole  afternoon  it  rained  hard,  till  near  four  o'clock,  when 
they  had  some  intervals  of  fair  weather  ;  then  the  captain,  Manne  Manne, 
the  two  Swedes,  with  brothers  Cover,  Henry,  and  a  few  more  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, went  on  shore,  in  order  to  examine  a  large  house  standing  on 
the  extremity  of  Point  Venus.  They  called  it  E  Fwharre  no  pritane, 
(the  British  house,)  and  said  it  had  been  built  by  Pomarrey  for  Captain 
Bligh,  who  had  said  he  should  come  back  and  reside  there.  It  is  a  large  and 
spacious  building,  of  an  oblong  figure,  one  hundred  and  eight  feet  long  and 
forty-eight  wide.  About  three  feet  within  the  sides  stand  pillars  all  round, 
about  nine  feet  long,  and  six  feet  distant  from  each  other.  About  one  foot 
from  these  pillars,  on  the  outside,  runs  a  screen  of  bamboo  all  round, 
except  about  twenty  feet  in  the  middle  on  both  sides.  The  chief  of  the 
district  (an  old  man  named  Pyteah)  welcomed  them  to  the  island,  said 
that  the  house  was  theirs,  and  should  be  cleared  for  their  reception  the 
next  day.  Manne  Manne,  the  aged  high  priest,  had  brought  five  of  his 
wives  with  him  on  board,  not  one  of  whom  exceeded  fifteen  years  of  age, 
and  desired  he  might  sleep  in  the  cabin ;  and,  according  to  the  custom 
of  the  country,  very  cordially  desired  Captain  Wilson,  his  tayo,  to  take 
his  choice,  and  could  hardly  persuade  himself  hs  was  serious  in  declining 
the  offer ;  nor  failed  the  next  morning  to  inquire  of  them  which  he  had 
chosen. 

The  rain  prevented  the  missionaries  landing  till  near  eleven  in  the 
forenoon  ;  when  the  captain,  Mr.  JeflTerson,  (president,)  with  a  few  more 
of  the  missionaries,  went  on  shore,  accompanied  by  Manne  Manne  and 
Peter.  The  natives  had  assembled  upon  the  beach  to  the  number  of  4 
or  500  ;  and  as  the  boat  approached  some  ran  into  the  water,  and  laying 
hold  of  her  hauled  her  aground,  then  took  the  captain  and  missionaries 
on  their  backs,  and  carried  them  dry  on  shore.  •  They  were  received  by 
the  young  king  (Otoo)  and  his  wife  Tetua,  both  carried  on  men's  shoul- 
ders. The  captain  now  informed  the  king,  through  Peter  as  interpreter, 
that  their  only  inducement  for  leaving  Pretane  to  come  and  visit  them 
was  to  do  them  good,  by  instructing  them  in  the  best  and  most  useful 
things  ;  and  for  this  end  some  good  men  intended  to  settle  among  them  ; 
requiring,  on  their  part,  the  free  gift  of  a  piece  of  land  sufficiently  stock- 
ed with  bread  fruit  and  cocoa  nut  trees,  and  so  large  as  to  contain  a  gar- 
den and  admit  of  houses  being  built  upon  it ;  that  this  land  should  be  their 
own  ;  that  they  would  not,  on  any  account,  intermeddle  in  their  wars,  nor 
employ  their  arms  but  for  self-defence  ;  and  at  all  times  should  live  free 
and  unmolested  among  them  ;  to  which,  if  he  consented,  they  would  stay 
ou  the  island  ;  if  not,  they  would  go  elsewhere.  Much  pains  were  taken 
to  make  this  plain ;  but  as  Otoo  appeared  to  be  a  vacant-looking  person, 
they  doubted  whether  he  understood  the  half  of  it,  though  he  signified 
the  large  house  was  their  own,  and  they  might  take  what  land  they  pleased. 

After  dinner  Otoo  and  his  wife  came  off,  each  in  a  small  canoe,  with 
only  one  man  paddling ;  while  they  went  several  times  round  the  ship, 
the  queen  was  frequently  bailing  her  canoe  with  a  cocoa  nut  shell.  He 
appears  tall  and  well  made,  about  seventeen  ;  his  queen  handsome  and 
finely  proportioned,  about  the  same  age,  and  always  carried  about,  on 
shore,  on  men's  shoulders.  The  king  appears  thoughtful,  speaks  little, 
but  surveys  things  with  attention. 

8th.  It  rained  hard  all  the  morning  till  about  nine  o'clock,  when  it 
cleared  up,  and  the  missionaries  went  on  shore  with  their  chests  and 
beds,  and  took  possession  ef  their  house.  The  first  thing  with  the  house 
was  to  close  it  quite  round  with  the  thicker  sort  of  bamboO;«fixing  a  door 


MISSIONARY  VOYAGE.  359 

on  each  side,  and  by  that  means  to  keep  the  natives  from  crowding  them. 
The  several  berths  or  apartments  were  next  planned,  and  partitions  of 
smaller  bamboo  begun  ;  but,  in  consequence  of  the  great  distance  the 
natives  had  to  go  up  the  valley  for  these  bamboos,  the  work  went  very 
slowly  on,  though  one  man  stripped  his  own  house  to  supply  them.  10th. 
The  captain  landed  for  the  purpose  of  presenting  some  showy  dresses 
to  the  young  king  and  his  wife.  They  met  him  at  the  beach  as  usual ; 
Peter  informed  him  of  what  was  intended,  and,  showing  him  the  box 
which  contained  the  treasure,  desired  Otoo  to  walk  toward  his  house,  a 
temporary  shed  they  had  erected  for  the  purpose  of  being  near  our  peo- 
ple. This  was  complied  with  ;  and  when  they  came  near,  the  captain, 
stopping  under  a  tree,  ordered  them  to  form  a  ring,  and  placing  the  box 
in  the  midst,  Otoo  was  requested  to  alight,  that  the  brethrerj  might  dress 
him ;  he  replied,  by  and  by,  and  gazed  sullenly  for  a  considerable  time, 
till  the  patience  of  the  captain  was  pretty  well  exhausted;  repeat- 
ing the  request  and  receiving  no  answer,  they  opened  the  box,  and  on 
taking  out  the  dress  for  the  queen,  she  instantly  alighted  from  the  man's 
shoulder,  and  Otoo  followed  her  example.  The  fancy  cap  fitted  her 
exceedingly  well,  and  she  seemed  very  proud  of  it,  but  it  was  only  by 
unripping  that  the  other  articles  could  be  put  upon  her  or  Otoo.  The 
captain  told  him  that  the  earees  of  Pretane  thought  he  was  not  yet  so 
stout  a  man.  Dressed  complete  in  this  gaudy  attire,  the  surrounding 
crowd  gazed  upon  them  with  admiration.  She,  true  to  the  foibles  of 
her  sex,  appeared  delighted  ;  but  Otoo  thought  little  of  them,  saying,  an 
axe,  a  musket,  a  knife,  or  a  pair  of  scissors,  were  more  valuable,  which 
was  saying  more  for  himself  than  they  expected,  or  that  he  had  even 
sense  to  do.  After  dinner,  next  day,  the  pinnace  was  manned  for  the 
women  and  children,  and,  by  the  captain's  desire,  Mr.  Wilson  accom- 
panied them  on  shore.  Vast  numbers  of  the  natives  crowded  to  the 
beach  to  gratify  their  curiosity,  all  behaving  with  great  respect  and  very 
peaceable.  Otoo  and  his  wife  kept  for  a  while  at  a  little  distance,  seem- 
ing in  doubt  whether  he  should  approach  the  women  ;  but  thinking  it 
proper  to  salute  him,  he  was  a  little  encouraged.  The  house  was  sur- 
rounded all  the  afternoon  by  the  natives,  who  were  much  delighted  with  the 
two  children,  and  sent  often  for  them  and  the  two  women  to  show  them- 
selves at  the  door.  In  the  dusk  of  the  evening  they  all  retired  ;  and 
this,  the  brethren  remark,  they  had  uniformly  done  since  they  first  landed. 

Before  the  Otaheiteans  departed  they  were  informed  no  work  would 
be  done  the  next  day  ;  and  they  asked  if  it  would  be  more  devoted  to 
prayer  than  the  other  days,  and  were  told  it  would.  The  Sunday  passed 
very  quietly,  not  one  canoe  coming  near  the  ship,  and  on  shore  no  inter- 
ruption was  attempted,  the  natives,  the  king  and  queen,  attending,  and 
conducting  themselves  in  peace  and  good  order. 

About  four  in  the  afternoon  Pomariey  and  his  wife  Iddeah,  having  just 
arrived  from  Tiarrabou,  paid  their  first  visit  at  the  ship  ;  besides  his  usual 
attendants  a  number  of  others  had  put  themselves  in  his  train.  When 
alongside  he  refused  to  come  farther  till  the  captain  showed  himself; 
this  being  done,  he  immediately  ascended  the  side,  and  coming  on  to  the 
quarter-deck,  wrapped  four  pieces  of  cloth  round  the  captain  as  his  own 
present ;  then  taking  that  off,  repeated  the  operation  with  the  like  quan- 
tity in  the  name  of  Iddeah.  The  first  ceremonies  over,  he  told  the  cap- 
tain that  he  would  send  provisions  and  whatever  they  had  occasion  for 
while  they  staid  at  Otaheite.  When  seated  in  the  cabin,  he  expressed 
Ills  regard  for  the  English  and  called  King  George  his  friend.     On  this 


860  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

the  interpreter  was  desired  to  inform  him,  that  King  George  loved  him, 
and  that  the  earees  of  Pretane  did  the  same  ;  and  that,  out  of  regard  for 
him  and  his  people,  they  had  sent  this  ship,  with  some  of  the  best  men, 
purposely  to  do  them  good  :  and  then  desired  to  know  whether  he  was 
pleased  that  part  of  our  number  should  reside  on  his  island.  He  imme- 
diately answered  in  the  affirmative.  A  piece  of  land  for  their  use  was 
next  mentioned  to  him  ;  to  which,  after  a  few  words  with  his  privy 
counsellor  Iddeah,  he  answered  that  the  whole  district  of  Matavai  should 
be  given  to  the  English,  to  do  with  it  what  they  pleased.  14th.  This 
morning  Manne  Manne  and  several  others  came  on  board,  all  behaving 
respectfully  to  Pomarrey.  The  captain,  in  order  to  cultivate  his  friendship, 
made  him  a  present  of  an  excellent  single-cased  metal  watch,  with  which 
he  was  very  much  pleased  ;  observing,  that  no  one  before  ever  made  him  a 
present  of  the  kind. 

1 6lh.  This  being  the  day  appointed  by  Pomarrey  for  ceding  in  form 
the  district  of  Matavai  to  the  English,  the  captain  landed  upon  Point 
Venus  ;  was  there  received  by  the  chief  and  conducted  near  to  the  mis- 
sionary house.  Most  of  the  brethren  from  the  ship,  and  all  on  shore,  were 
present  at  this  ceremony.  Peter  the  Swede  took,  as  usual,  the  office  of  in- 
terpreter. The  scene,  says  Mr.  Bowell,  was  laid  before  the  door  of  the 
missionary  house,  at  some  distance  from  which  a  rope  was  stretched,  to 
keep  off  the  crowd.  Pomarrey,  Iddeah,  Otoo,  his  wife  and  brothers, 
went  also  without  the  rope.  Manne  Manne,  who  alone  acted  the  part 
of  conveyancer,  remained  within  with  the  captain  and  brethren.  He 
then  desired  Peter  to  tell  the  captain  all  that  he  should  say,  and  began 
by  prefacing  his  oration  with  towa,  tovva,  hear  !  in  order  to  attract  gene- 
ra! attention  ;  then  went  on  enumerating  all  the  eatooas  of  Otaheite, 
Eimeo,  and  the  Society  Isles  ;  next  the  districts  and  their  chiefs  in  regu- 
lar order ;  and,  lastly,  the  ships  and  their  commanders,  from  Wallis,  Bou- 
gainville, and  Cook,  down  to  the  Duff  and  her  captain,  concluding  with 
the  formal  surrender  of  the  district  of  Matavai ;  observing,  that  they 
might  take  what  houses,  trees,  fruit,  hogs,  &c.,  they  thought  proper. 
This  strange  speech  was  delivered  very  deliberately  by  the  old  priest, 
who,  while  he  spoke,  sat  in  an  odd  posture,  half  bent  upon  his  heels, 
holding  with  one  hand  the  rope,  and  frequently  scratching  his  head  and 
rubbing  his  eyes  with  the  other.  These  peculiarities  were  caught  by  his 
mimicking  countrymen,  who  afterward  turned  them  into  humorous  pan- 
tomime. 

lOlh.  It  having  been  made  known  that  they  intended  to  address  the 
natives  this  morning,  numbers  of  them  assembled  early  round  their  dwel- 
ling ;  among  them  were  Pomarrey  and  his  sister  :  he  had  been  inquiring  a 
day  or  two  before  concerning  their  speaking  to  them,  and  said,  "  he  had 
been  dreaming  about  the  book  which  should  be  sent  him  from  the  eatooa." 
At  ten  o'clock  called  the  natives  together  under  the  cover  of  some  shady 
trees  near  the  house ;  and  a  long  form  being  placed,  Pomarrey  was  requested 
to  seat  himself  on  it  with  the  brethren,  the  rest  of  the  natives  standing  or 
sitting  in  a  circle  around.  Mr.  Cover  then  addressed  them  from  the 
words  of  St.  John,  "  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  be- 
gotten Son,  that  they  who  believe  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life  ;"  the  Swede  interpreting  sentence  by  sentence  as  he 
spoke.  The  Otaheiteans  were  silent  and  solemnly  attentive.  After 
service  Pomarrey  took  broth-er  Cover  by  the  hand,  and  pronounced  the 
word  of  approbation,  my  ty,  my  ty.  Being  asked  if  he  had  understood 
what  was  said,  he  replied,  "  There  wore  no  such  things  before  in  Ota 


MISSIONARY  VOYAGE.  361 

heite ;  and  they  were  not  to  be  learned  at  once,  but  that  he  would  wait 
the  coming  of  (the  eatooa)  God."  Desiring  to  know  if  he  might  be  per- 
mitted to  attend  aga>n,  he  was  tcld,  yes.  Being  conducted  into  the 
house,  he  and  his  wife  dined  with  them  and  departed. 

As  Peter  the  Swede  had  offered  to  go  with  them  to  the  Friendly  Is- 
lands, the  captain  consented,  thinking  that  he  might  be  serviceable  on 
some  occasions  as  interpreter.  He  proposed  taking  with  him  a  young 
woman  named  Tanno  Manno,  with  whom  he  had  for  some  time  lived  as 
his  wife,  a  man  the  mutineers  had  named  Tom,  and  a  boy  called  Harra- 
way.  The  last  two  Mr.  Crook,  who  had  already  made  great  proficiency 
in  the  Otaheitean  language,  thought  might  be  great  helps  to  him.  The 
native^  understood  they  were  now  about  to  leave  them  for  some  months, 
but  the  captain's  intention  was  to  lie  a  few  days  at  Eimeo,  and,  previous 
to  setting  off  for  the  Marquesas,  to  touch  again  in  Matavai  Bay,  when  he 
might  probably  learn  how  the  natives  were  likely  to  behave  during  their 
absence. 

About  an  hour  before  daylight  weighed,  with  a  light  air  from  the  south- 
east. Kept  running  along  the  edge  of  the  coral  reefs  toward  Taloo  har- 
bour. This  harbour  is  on  the  north  side  of  the  island  ;  the  bottom  so 
clear  that  you  distinctly  see  the  coral,  with  its  beautiful  branches. 
Here  they  first  saw  a  tupapow ;  the  flesh  was  quite  gone  ;  the  skin,  like 
parchment  stretched  over  the  bones,  remained :  the  natives  seemed 
averse  to  their  examining  it.  Two  posts  about  six  feet  long  are  let  into 
the  ground  at  each  end  ;  on  these  abroad  plank  is  laid,  and  the  corpse  is 
there  extended,  wrapped  in  cloth,  to  dry,  and  a  small  shed,  like  a  boat  in- 
verted, placed  over  it  to  keep  out  the  rain.  The  bad  conduct  of  the 
captain's  steward  had  been  often  noted,  though  the  missionaries  were 
reluctant  to  complain.  This  had  at  last  exhausted  the  patience  of  the 
captain,  who  turned  him  out  of  the  cabin  before  the  mast.  This  evening, 
going  on  shore  with  others  to  bathe,  he  secreted  himself,  having  contrived 
to  get  some  of  his  things  on  shore  unknown  to  any  but  the  Swede. 

25th.  At  six,  A.  M.,  with  a  light  breeze  from  south-south-east,  weighed 
and  stood  out  of  Taloo  harbour.  Toward  evening  saw  Tethuroa,  low 
land,  about  twenty-four  miles  from  Otaheite.  26th.  About  four  in  the 
afternoon  tacked  the  ship  close  in  with  One  Tree  Hill,  hoisted  the  colours, 
and  fired  a  gun  ;  upon  hearing  of  which,  Messrs.  Cover,  Lewis,  Henry, 
Gillham,  and  others,  came  off  in  a  double  canoe,  and  reported  that  all  was 
well.  The  wind  being  fresh  to  east,  they  filled  their  topsails,  and  left 
them  far  astern,  the  ship  steering  for  the  Friendly  Islands. 

The  day  following  their  departure  from  Matavai  they  passed  to  the 
southward  of  the  Society  Islands,  in  sight  of  Huaheine,  Ulietea,  Otaha, 
and  Bolabola  ;  then,  with  a  fine  fair  wind  and  pleasant  weather,  shaped 
a  course  for  Palmerston's  Island,  which  they  intended  to  visit,  as  it  lay 
directly  in  their  way.  Accordingly,  on  the  1st  of  April,  a  little  before 
day,  saw  it  bearing  west,  distant  about  two  leagues  ;  then  running  nearer, 
hoisted  out  the  pinnace  and  jolly-boat,  and  attempted  landing  on  the  south- 
easternmost  isle  ;  but  finding  it  impracticable,  on  account  of  the  surf 
breaking  high  on  every  part  of  the  surrounding  reef,  they  bore  down  to 
the  next  isle,  which  is  the  south- westernmost,  and  found  it  almost  as  bad 
to  land  upon  as  that  they  had  left.  On  Wednesday,  the  5th  of  April,  saw 
Savage  Island,  but  did  not  get  near  it  before  dark.  In  passing  the  north 
end  perceived  three  lights,  and  on  the  west  side  seven  more.  They  now 
shaped  a  course  for  Tongataboo.  On  Sunday,  the  9th,  at  ten,  A.  M., 
saw  the  land.     Passing  to  the  northward  of  Eoo-aije,  steered  west-south- 

31 


362  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

west,  to  the  en'.rance,  then  west  by  south  and  west,  up  the  harbour,  fol- 
lowed by  a  canoe  and  several  others  which  put  off"  from  the  eastern  part 
of  the  main  island  and  the  isles  that  lie  scatteied  upon  the  reef. 

Their  followers  were  now  all  eager  to  come  onboard  ;  but  though  they 
were  willing  to  grant  them  every  prudent  indulgence,  yet  they  were  too 
numerous  to  have  free  access.  After  dinner  a  chief,  named  Futtafaihe, 
was  introduced  to  the  captain  as  a  person  of  great  power  in  Tongataboo  ; 
and  indeed  such  he  appeared  ;  he  was  about  forty  years  of  age,  stout 
and  weil-proj)ortioned,  of  an  open,  free  countenance,  noble  demeanour, 
and  a  gait  stately,  or  rather  pompous,  for  by  it  alone  they  should  have 
taken  him  a  for  a  very  great  man.  After  the  captain  had  made  him  a 
present  of  an  axe,  a  looking-glass,  and  some  other  articles,  he  took  his 
leave,  and  was  hardly  from  the  ship  when  two  Europeans  made  their  ap- 
pearance ;  they  came  alongside  without  hesitation,  and  slipping  on  board 
with  alacrity,  gave  them  the  unspeakable  pleasure  of  hearing  their  own 
language  spoken  by  them.  One,  named  Benjamin  Ambler,  says,  that  he 
was  born  in  the  parish  of  Shadwell,  London,  and  that  his  parents  now 
keep  a  public-house  in  Cannon-street.  He  is  a  bold,  talkative,  presuming 
fellow,  seems  to  speak  the  language  fluently,  and  says  that  he  learned  it 
wilh  great  facility.  John  Connelly  is  a  native  of  Cork,  in  Ireland,  by 
trade  a  cooper,  and  is  far  less  talkative  than  his  comrade.  An  Irishman 
named  Morgan  remained  at  Annamooka ;  they  had  been  about  thirteen 
months  at  Tongataboo. 

Ambler  informed  them  that  Futtafaihe  was  a  great  chief,  and  presided 
over  all  the  eastern  part  of  the  island ;  but  that  there  was  an  old  man 
named  Tibo  Moomooe,  of  great  power,  and  generally  esteemed  as  king 
over  the  island  :  at  present,  they  said,  he  was  in  a  bad  state  of  health, 
for  which  reason  he  could  not  gratify  his  desire  to  come  on  board  when  the 
ship  first  came  to  anchor.  About  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  Ambler  and 
Connelly  came  with  a  present  of  three  hogs  and  some  yams  from  Moo- 
mooe, informing  them  that  himself  intended  to  follow.  Accordingly  the 
venerable  chief  was  very  soon  alongside,  but  was  long  before  he  durst 
venture  up  the  ladd«r,  fearing  he  had  not  strength  sufficient  for  the  task  ; 
he  at  last,  liowever,  made  the  trial,  but  was  so  exhausted  thereby  that  he 
was  obliged  to  rest  himself  at  the  gangway,  thence  his  attendants  led  him 
to  the  quarterdeck  ladder,  where  he  again  sat  down,  saying  that  ho 
would  not  go  before  the  captain  till  he  was  shaved  ;  and  to  please  him 
in  this,  Mr.  Harris  began  the  operation,  and  finished  it,  much  to  the  satis- 
faction of  this  decent  chief.  They  examined  minutely  the  jointing  of  the 
chairs  and  of  the  mahogany  table,  and  expressed  no  small  degree  of  asto- 
nishment at  finding  themselves  so  far  excelled  ;  for  they  cherish  an  idea 
of  being  superior  to  all  their  neighbours.  V/hen  told  that  the  men  brought 
to  hve  among  them  could  teach  them  those  arts,  and  also  better  things, 
they  seemed  quite  transported.  This  favourable  opportunity  the  captahi 
improved,  by  mentioning  every  circumstance  that  could  raise  in  their 
minds  a  high  idea  of  the  missionaries,  interrogating  Moomooe  as  to  his 
willingncsa,for  them  to  reside  there,  and  also  what  provision  he  would 
make  for  them  ;  to  which  he  answered,  that  for  the  present  they  should 
have  a  house  near  his  own,  until  one  more  suitable  could  be  provided; 
they  should  also  have  a  piece  of  land  for  their  use  ;  and  he  would  take 
care  that  neither  their  property  nor  persons  should  be  molested  ;  adding 
that,  if  they  pleased,  they  might  go  on  shore  and  examine  the  house, 
when,  if  they  did  not  like  the  situation,  he  would  order  it  to  be  removed 
to  any  spot  they  preferred,  for  this  he  could  have  done  in  a  few  hours. 


# 


MISSIONARY  VOYAGE.  363 

At  nine  o'clock  Ambler  came  off  with  Toogahowe,  who  had  already 
agreed  with  the  former  to  take  all  the  brethren  under  his  protection,  also 
to  give  them  a  house,  and  the  land  attached  to  it,  lor  their  use.  Tooga- 
howe, by  Ambler's  account,  is  the  most  powerful  chief  in  the  island  ;  13 
the  greatest  warrior,  and  in  consequence  not  only  a  terror  to  the  chiefs 
of  Tongataboo,  but  likewise  to  those  of  the  adjacent  islands.  In  the 
afternoon  a  canoe  came  for  the  missionaries'  things,  and  was  immediately 
loaded  ;  Bov/ell,  Buchanan,  Gaulton,  Harper,  Shelly,  Veeson,  and  Wil- 
kinson, accompanied  by  B.  Ambler,  embarked  in  it,  and  proceeded  west- 
ward to  a  place  called  Aheefo.  A  petty  chief,  named  Commabye,  was 
ordered  by  Toogahowe  to  go  with  them  and  see  that  nothing  was  lost. 
Kelso,  Cooper,  and  Nobbs,  remained  on  board  to  prepare  the  rest  of  the 
things.  The  cargo  brought  on  shore  was  surrounded  by  a  hundred  per^ 
sons,  who  alarmed  brother  Harj^er  and  another  ;  but  Mytyle  ordered  the 
chests  into  a  house  near,  and  dismissed  the  people,  threatening  if  any 
man,  during  the  night,  approached  to  steal,  he  should  be  put  to  death. 
So  the  brethren  lay  down  on  mats,  in  perfect  security,  till  waked  by 
Mytyle,  at  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  to  partake  of  an  entertainment, 
which  he  had  provided,  of  fish,  hot  yams,  cocoa  nuts,  &c.  14th.  A  dis- 
agreeable night  was  succeeded  by  a  morning  altogether  mild  and  pleasant ; 
and  with  a  clear  sky  and  gentle  breeze  westerly  they  got  again  under 
weigh  for  the  Marquesas. 

On  the  23d  of  May  discovered  land;  at  eight,  A.  M.,  the  extremities 
of  a  low  island  bore  from  west  25  degrees  south  to  west  32  degrees  south, 
distant  about  five  leagues.  This  being  a  new  discovery,  tacked  a  little 
before  noon,  on  purpose  to  take  a  nearer  vie*v.  This  was  named  Cres- 
cent Island,  on  account  of  its  form  ;  it  is  six  or  seven  miles  in  circum- 
ference, and  lies  in  latitude  23  degrees  22  minutes  south,  longitude  225 
degrees  30  minutes  east.  They  directed  their  course  west-north-west 
toward  an  island  with  two  high  hills  that  he  contiguous  to  each  other,  and 
are  so  lofty  as  to  be  discovered  when  disiant  fourteen  or  fifteen  leagues. 
These,  for  distinction's  sake,  were  named  Duff's  Mountains. 

When  within  three  leagues,  saw  a  reef  ahead,  and  the  sea  breaking 
very  high  upon  it ;  this  obliged  them  to  alter  their*  course  to  north-north- 
west. After  ruiming  thus  about  an  hour,  had  a  better  view,  and  it  appear- 
ed that  Duff's  Mouutams  were  part  of  an  island  about  three  leagues  m 
length,  with  several  of  considerable  height  and  extent  to  the  south  and 
south-east  of  it ;  the  whole  forming  a  group  five  or  six  leagues  long,  lying 
in  a  direction  nearly  north-east  by  north  and  south-west  by  south  ;  and  a 
reef  which  lies  off  about  three  miles  from  the  main  island,  and  probably 
encircles  the  whole  as  a  defensive  barrier,  extended  as  far  each  way  as 
they  could  see.  The  group  was  named  Gambler's  Islands,  in  compliment 
to  the  worthy  admiral  of  that  name,  who,  in  his  department,  countenanced 
their  equipment.  Duff's  Mountains,  wliich  lie  in  the  centre,  are  in  lati- 
tude 23  degrees  12  minutes  south,  and  in  longitude  225  degrees  east. 

The  2Gih,  at  half-past  five  in  the  morning,  just  as  the  day  broke,  thought 
they  saw  low  land  ahead,  when  the  day  presented'  to  view  the  imminent 
danger  they  had  escaped.  This  island,  lying  in  latitude  21  degrees  36 
minutes  south  by  observation,  and  in  longitude-  224  degrees  36  minutes 
east  by  chronometer,  is  probably  the  same  called  Lord  Hood's  Island  by 
Captain  Edwards,  who  discovered  it,  in  the  Pandora,  17th  of  March,  1791. 
On  the  28Lh,  at  noon,  observed,  in  latitude  18  degrees  34  mmutes  south,' 
and  about  three  in  the  afternoon  discovered  another  low  island  bearing 
north-east.     This  received  the  name  of  Searl's  Island,  in  compliment  to 


364  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

a  gentleman  of  that  name  now  in  the  Transport-office,  and  author  of 
Horre  So'itari-ae  and  other  valuable  works.  From  this  time  nothing  mat  eiial 
occurred  until  they  made  the  iVIarquesas. 

On  the  5th  of  June,  when  within  four  miles  of  Resolution  Bay,  saw  two 
men  paddling  toward  them  in  a  small  wretched  canoe,  which  they  kept 
above  waier  by  constant  bailing.  Though  it  was  now  dark,  tv/o  females 
swam  off,  in  hopes,  no  doubt,  of  a  favourable  reception  :  but  finding  they 
could  not  be  adniitted,  they  kept  swimming  about  the  ship  for  near  half  an 
hour,  calling  out,  in  a  pitiful  tone,  "  Waheine  !  waneine  !"  that  is,  Wo- 
man 1  or,  V/e  ftre  women  !  They  then  returned  to  the  shore  in  the  same 
manner  as  they  eame.  The  6th,  their  first  visiters  from  the  shore  came 
early  ;  they  were  seven  beautiful  young  women,  swimming  quite  naked, 
except  a  few  green  leaves  lied  round  their  middle  :  they  kept  playing 
round  the  ship  for  three  hours,  calling  Waheine  !  until  several  of  the 
native  men  had  got  on  board  ;  one  of  whom,  being  the  chief  of  the  island, 
requested  that  his  sister  might  be  taken  on  board,  which  was  complied 
with  :  she  was  of  a  fair  complexion,  inclining  to  a  healthy  yellow,  with  a 
tint  of  red  in  her  cheek,  was  rather  stout,  but  possessing  such  symmetry 
of  features,  as  did  all  her  companions,  that,  as  models  for  the  statuary  and 
painter,  their  equal  can  seldom  be  found.  Their  Otaheitean  girl,  who 
was  tolerably  fair  and  had  a  comely  person,  was  notwithstanding  greatly 
eclipsed  by  these  v/omen.  The  chief  above  noticed  is  named  Tenae, 
eldest  son  of  Honoo,  the  reigning  prince  in  Captain  Cook's  time  ;  he  came 
in  a  tolerably  good  canoe,  and  introduced  himself  by  presenting  the  captain 
with  a  smooth  staff  about  eight  feet  long,  to  the  head  of  which  a  few 
locks  of  human  hair  were  neatly  plaited  ;  and,  besides  this,  he  gave  a  few 
head  and  breast  ornaments.  Observing  a  musket  on  the  quarter-deck,  ho 
took  it  with  care  to  the  captain,. and  begged  him  "  to  put  it  to  sleep."  He 
received  an  axe,  a  looking-glass,  and  neck-chain  to  hang  it,  also  a  pair  of 
scissors  ;  the  latter,  an  article  much  prized  at  the  Friendly  and  Society 
Isles,  he  was  either  indifferent  about,  or  totally  ignorant  of  their  use. 

Their  intention  of  settling  two  men  among  them  being  made  known  to 
the  chief,  he  seemed  higtily  delighted  with  the  proposal,  and  said  that  he 
V(?ould  give  them  a  house  and  a  share  in  all  that  himself  had.  After  this 
he  went  on  shore ;  Mr.  Wilson  followed,  with  Mr.  Harris,  Mr.  Crook, 
Peter,  and  Otaheitean  Tom.  Tenae  received  them  upon  the  beach,  and 
conducted  them  to  one  of  his  best  houses,  intimai'ng  that  it  was  for  the 
use  of  the  brethreii,  and  that  they  might  occupy  it  as  soon  as  they  pleased. 
To  convey  an  idea  of  what  this  and  all  their  best-built  houses  are  like,  it 
is  only  necessary  tp  imagine  one  of  our  own  of  one  story  high,  with  a  high 
peaked  roof;  cui  it  lengthwise  exactly  down  the  middle,  you  would  then 
have,  two  of  their  houses,  only  built  of  different  materials. 

The  8th,  Tenae  was  now  more  familiar  tlian  at  his  hrst  visit,  and  sur- 
veyed the  cabin  with  a  degree  of  attention,  but  not  with  the  penetration 
and  discernment  of  the  Friendly  islanders.  Happening  to  touch  the  wire 
of  the  cabin-btdl,  he  was  struck  with  astonishment  and  savage  wonder  ; 
he  rang  the  bell  again  and  again,  and  puzzled  himself  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
to  find  whence  the  sound  proceeded.  Sunday,  the  natives  crowded  off 
as  usual  ;  but,  on  being  told  that  the  ship  was  taboo  for  that  day,  ihey  all 
^wam  buck  to  the  shore.  On  the  20th  Mr.  Harris  and  Crook  came  on 
board,  and  held  a  meeting  with  the  captain  respecting  their  stay.  Mr. 
Hams  complai.ied  of  the  poverty  of  the  place  ;  said  that  he  could  not  eat 
the  mahie,  k-c.  Crook  declared  his  determination  to  stay,  even  though 
Harris  should  leave  him.     On  the  21th  the  fishermen,  whom  they  hauled 


MISSIONARY  VOYAGE.  365 

m  at  the  quarter- gallery  at  first  coming,  swam  off  at  break  of  tlay,  and  in- 
formed them  that  Mr.  Harris  had  been  on  the  beach  all  the  night  wiih  his 
chest,  and  had  been  robbed  of  most  of  his  things.  Tenae,  it  seems, 
wanted  to  treat  them  with  an  excursion  to  another  valley,  to  which  Crook 
readily  agreed,  but  Mr.  Harris  would  not  consent.  The  chief  seeing  this, 
and  desirous  of  obliging  him,  not  considering  any  favour  too  great,  left 
him  his  wife,  to  be  treated  as  if  she  were  his  own,  till  the  chief  came  back 
again.  Mr.  Harris  told  him  that  he  did  not  want  the  woman  ;  however, 
she  looked  up  to  him  as  her  husband,  and  findingherselftreated  with  total 
neglecL,  became  doubtful  of  his  sex,  and  acquainted  some  of  the  other 
females  with  her  suspicion.  Discovering  so  many  strangers,  he  was  great- 
ly terrified ;  and,  perceiving  what  they  had  been  doing,  was  determined 
to  leave  a  place  where  the  people  were  so  abandoned  and  given  up  to 
wickedness,  a  cause  which  should  have  excited  a  contrary  resolution. 
Crook  is  a  young  man  of  twenty-two,  remarkably  serious  and  steady, 
always  employed  in  the  improvement  of  his  mind,  and  applied  with  great 
diligence  to  the  attainment  of  the  language.  He  also  possesses  a  very 
good  genius,  and  no  doubt  will  contrive  many  things  to  benefit  the  poor 
creatures  he  lives  with  ;  and  as  the  valley  is  capable  of  great  improvement, 
they  should  not  be  surprised  to  hear  of  this  and  the  islands  adjacent  be- 
coming very  plentiful  places  by  his  means.  He  has  various  kinds  of 
garden  seeds,  implements,  medicines,  &;c.,  an  Encyclopedia,  and  other 
useful  books. 

The  27th,  at  four  in  the  morning,  they  weighed  and  stood  out  of  the 
bay  with  a  light  air  easterly.  Their  religious  ceremonies  resemble  those 
of  the  Society  Islands.  They  have  a  moral  in  each  district,  where  the 
dead  are  buried  beneath  a  pavement  of  large  stones,  but  with  such  excep- 
tions as  in  the  case  of  the  Chief  Honoo.  They  have  a  multitude  of  deities. 
Those  most  frequently  mentioned  are  Opooamanne,  Okeeo,  Oenamoe, 
Opee-peetye,  Onooko,  Oetanow,  Fatee-aitapoo,  and  Onoetye  ;  but  none 
who  seem  superior  to  the  rest,  though  the  extent  of  information  is  small  on 
this  head.  They  only  offer  hogs  in  sacrifices,  and  never  men.  The  Chief 
Tenae  presides  over  four  districts,  Ohitahoo,  Taheway,  and  Innamei,  all 
opening  into  Resolution  Bay,  and  Onopoho,  the  adjoining  valley  to  the 
southward.  He  has  four  brothers  ;  Aeowtaytay,  Natooafeedoo,  Ohee- 
phee,  and  Moeneenee  ;  but  none  of  them  seem  invested  with  any  authority  ; 
and  Tenae  himself  with  less  than  the  Otaheitean  chiefs.  There  is  no 
regular  government,  established  law,  nor  punishments  ;  but  custom  is  the 
general  rule. 

July  3d,  fell  in  with  Tiookea,  a  lagoon  island,  many  of  which  lie  scat- 
tered about  this  part  of  the  ocean,  and  render  the  navigation  in  dark 
weather  dangerous.  On  the  6th,  at  seven  in  the  morning,  they  saw  the 
high  land  of  Otaheite  ;  and  at  noon,  being  close  in,  ran  between  the 
Dolphin  Bank  and  Point  Venus  Reef,  and  came  to  anchor  in  Matavai 
Bay.  The  natives  crowded  off,  all  exceedingly  glad  to  see  them  ;  the 
brethren  followed  in  a  flat-bottomed  boat,  which  they  had  been  desired 
to  build  for  the  purpose  of  passing  the  shallow  entrance  of  the  river  with 
the  goods.  The  report  they  gave  was  pleasing  to  all.  They  had  in 
general  enjoyed  good  health.  The  natives  had  constantly  observed  tlx) 
same  respectful  behaviour  toward  them  as  at  first,  and  had  never  failed  a 
day  to  supply  them  abundantly  with  all  kinds  of  provisions.  One  of  the 
arreoies,  the  tayo  of  brother  Henry,  came  to  the  missionaries  with  his 
wife  big  with  child  :  Hhey  were  taking  their  leave,  in  order,  during  their 
absence,  to  destroy  the  hifant  which  should  be  born,  according  to  the 

31^ 


366  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

ordinance  of  that  diabolical  society.  They  thought  this  a  proper  oppor- 
tunity to  remonstrate  with  them  against  this  horrid  custom.  The  mother 
felt  with  tenderness,  and  appeared  willing  to  spare  the  infant ;  but  the 
brutal  chief  continued  obscinately  bent  on  his  purpose,  though  he  ac- 
knowledged it  a  bloody  act,  pleading  the  established  custom,  his  loss  of 
all  privileges,  and  the  dissolution  ot  the  society,  if  this  should  become 
general.  They  offered  to  build  them  a  house  for  the  pregnant  women, 
and  take  every  child  which  should  be  born  into  their  immediate  care. 
They  threatened  him,  that  such  an  unnatural  act  would  exclude  him  from 
their  friendship  for  ever,  and  more,  that  the  eatooa  (their  God)  would 
certainly  punish  hira.  He  said,  if  he  saw  the  arreoios  destroyed  by  the 
eatooa  for  it,  he  would  desist  ;  and  asked  if  their  forefathers  were  suffer- 
ing for  these  practices. 

Pomarrey  and  Iddeah  came  at  noon,  and  going  into  the  married  bre- 
thren's apartment,  found  them  conversing  with  the  arreoies  on  the  evil  of 
destroying  infants.  Iddeah  was  particularly  addressed  on  the  subject,  as 
she  too  was  pregnant  by  a  toutou,  who  cohabited  with  her,  and  was  also 
of  the  arreoie  society.  Pomarrey  and  Iddeah  had  for  some  time  ceased 
to  cohabit ;  he  had  taken  another  wife,  and  she  one  of  her  servants  ;  but 
they  lived  in  the  same  state  of  friendship,  and  with  no  loss  of  dignity. 
The  brethren  endeavoured  to  convince  her  of  the  dread.^ulncss  of  murder, 
in  a  mother  especially.  They  promised  to  receive  the  child  immediately, 
and  it  should  be  no  trouble  to  her  ;  but  she  was  sullen  and  made  no  repiy. 
Tiiey  then  addressed  Pomarrey,  and  entreated  his  interference  in  suppress- 
ing such  acts  of  inhumanity,  and  to  give  orders  that  no  more  human  sacrifices 
should  be  offered.  He  replied  he  would  ;  said  that  Captain  Cook  told 
him  it  should  not  be  done  ;  but  did  not  stay  long  enough  to  instruct  them. 

A  fact  was  reported  to  them,  which,  if  true,  was  shocking.  In  one  of 
Captain  Cook's  visits  he  left  a  great  monkey,  who  was  made  a  chief  at 
Atahourou  ;  he  had  a  wife  and  thirty  servants,  and  abundance  of  every- 
thing ;  they  called  him  Taata  oore  harrai,  the  great  man-dog.  One  day 
the  woman  seeing  him  catch  flies  and  eat  them,  which  they  abominate, 
she  ran  away  into  the  mountains  ;  the  monkey  and  his  toutous  pursued, 
but  being  met  by  Temarre,  who  was  jealous  of  his  authority,  he  knocked 
him  down  with  a  club  and  killed  him.  One  of  the  brethren  this  evening 
sitting  in  his  birth  writing,  a  young  girl  came  in,  and  expressed  her  sur- 
prise that  they  behaved  so  different  to  them  from  what  all  their  country- 
men had  done.  He  told  her  that  such  practices  were  wicked,  and  if  they 
did  such  things  God  would  be  angry.  "  Oh,"  said  she,  "  but  I  will  come 
to  you  in  the  night,  and  then  none  can  see  us." 

They  had  de^sired  Peter,  that  if  a  mawhoo  came  in  their  way,  he  should 
point  him  out ;  and  here  there  happened  to  be  one  in  Pomarrey's  train. 
He  was  dressed  like  a  woman,  and  mimicked  the  voice  and  every  pecu- 
liarity of  the  sex.  They  asked  Pomarrey  what  he  was,  who  answered 
"  Taata,  mawhoo,"  that  is,  a  man,  a  mawhoo.  As  they  fixed  their  eyes 
upon  the  fellow,  he  hid  his  face  :  this  they  at  first  construed  into  shame, 
but  found  it  afterward  to  be  a  womanish  trick.  These  mawhoos  choose 
this  vile  way  of  life  when  young  ;  putting  on  the  dress  of  a  woman,  they 
follow  the  same  employments,  are  under  the  same  prohibitions  with  respect 
to  food,  &c.,  and  seek  the  courtship  of  men  the  same  as  women  do  ;  nay, 
are  more  jealous  of  the  men  who  cohabit  with  them,  and  always  refuse 
to  sleep  with  women. 

The  great  moral  of  Oberea  stands  on  a  point  to  the  eastward  ;  thither 
they  went,  to  have  a  view  of  so  great  a  curiosity.     Otoo  has  one  of  his 


MISSIONARY  VOYAGE.  367 

representative  houses  here  ;  and  in  passing  it  some  of  his  servants,  judg- 
ing whither  they  were  going,  followed,  and  were  Tery  assiduous  hi  ex- 
plaining everything.  This  morai  is  an  enormous  pile  of  stone-work,  in 
form  of  a  pyramid,  on  a  parallelogram  area ;  it  has  a  flight  of  ten  sl,ej)s 
quite  round  it,  the  first  of  which,  from  the  ground,  is  six  feet  high,  the  rest 
about  five  feet ;  it  is  in  length,  at  the  base,  two  hundred  and  seventy  feet ; 
width,  at  ditto,  ninety-four  feet ;  at  the  top  it  is  one  hundred  and  eighty 
feet  long,  and  about  six  wide  ;  the  steps  are  composed  partly  of  regular  rows 
of  squared  coral  stones,  about  eighteen  inches  high,  and  partly  with  bluish 
coloured  pebble  stones,  nearly  quite  round,  of  a  hard  texture,  all  about  six 
inches  diameter,  and  in  their  natural  unhewn  state  :  this  is  the  outside. 
The  inside,  that  is  to  say,  what  composes  the  solid  mass,  (for  it  has  no  hol- 
low space,)  is  composed  of  stones  of  various  kinds  and  shapes.  It  is  a 
wonderful  strutvire  ;  and  it  must  have  cost  them  immense  time  and  pains 
to  bring  such  a  quantity  Of  stones  together,  and  particularly  to  square  the 
coral  of  the  steps  with  the  tools  they  had  when  it  was  raised ;  for  it  was 
before  iron  came  among  them ;  aijd  as  they  were  ignorant  of  mortar  or 
cement,  it  required  all  the  care  they  have  taken  to  fit  the  stones  regularly  to 
each  other,  that  it  might  stand.  When  Sir  Joseph  Banks  saw  this  place, 
there  was,  on  the  centre  of  the  summit,  a  representation  of  a  bird,  carved 
in  wood  ;  and  close  by  it  the  figure  of  a  fish,  carved  in  stone  :  but  both  are 
now  gone,  and  the  stones  of  the  upper  steps  are  in  many  places  fallen ; 
the  walls  of  the  court  have  also  gone  much  to  ruin,  and  the  flat  pavement 
is  only  in  some  places  discernible.  The  above  gentleman,  speaking  of 
this  court,  says,  "  The  pyramid  constitutes  one  side  of  a  court  or  square, 
the  sides  of  which  were  nearly  equal  ;  and  the  whole  was  walled  in  and 
paved  with  flat  stones  :  notwithstanding  which  pavement,  several  plantains 
and  trees,  which  the  natives  call  etoa,  grew  within  the  enclosure."  At 
present  there  is  within  this  square  a  house,  called  the  house  of  the  eatooa, 
in  which  a  man  constantly  resides.  Sir  Joseph  farther  says,  "  that  at  a 
small  distance  to  the  westward  of  this  edifice  was  another  paved  square, 
that  contained  several  small  stages,  called  ewattas  by  the  natives,  which 
appeared  to  be  altars  whereon  they  placed  the  offerings  to  their  gods ;" 
and  that  he  afterward  saw  whole  hogs  placed  upon  these  stages  or  altars. 
The  guide  led  to  this  spot,  which  appears  also  to  have  gone  much  to  ruin ; 
he  showed  the  altar,  which  is  a  heap  of  stones,  and  how  they  lay  their  offer- 
ing upon  it ;  he  then  went  a  few  yards  back,  and  laying  hold  of  an  upright 
stone  like  a  gravestone,  he  knelt  with  one  knee,  and  looking  upward,  began 
to  call  on  the  eatooa,  by  crying,  *'  Whooo,  whooo  ;"  and  by  afterward 
making  a  whisthng  noise,  intimated  it  to  be  the  way  in  which  the  eatooa 
answered  them. 

Before  dinner  they  set  off  with  the  chief  to  see  a  morai,  where  it  was 
said  the  ark  of  the  eatooa  was  deposited,  and  which  had  been  conjectured 
by  some  visiters  to  bear  a  similitude  in  form  to  the  ark  of  the  covenant. 
Though  it  was  about  noon,  m  the  road  they  felt  little  of  the  heat  of  the 
sun  :  lofty  bread  fruit  trees  afforded  them  a  pleasant  shade  ;  and,  as  there 
was  but  little  underwood,  they  felt  no  annoyance,  except  from  a  few  flies. 
Turmeric  and  ginger  abounded,  as  also  the  wild  cotton  tree.  The  morai 
stands  on  the  north  side  of  the  valley,  about  a  mile  or  more  from  the 
beach  ;  it  is  erected  on  level  ground,  enclosed  with  a  square  wooden 
fence,  each  side  of  which  may  measure  thirty  or  forty  yards.  About  one- 
half  of  the  platform,  next  the  interior  side  of  the  square,  is  paved  ;  and 
on  this  pavement,  nearly  in  the  middle,  there  stands  an  altar  upon  sixteen 
wooden  pillars,  each  eight  feet  high  ;  it  is  forty  feet  long  and  seven  feet 


368  VOYAdES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

wide :  on  the  top  a^  the  pillars  the  platform  for  the  oSerings  is  laid  with 
thick  malting  upon  it,  >vliich,  overhanging  each  side,  forms  a  deep  fringe 
all  around  it.  Upon  this  mattmg  are  offerings  of  whole  hogs,  turtle,  large 
fish,  plantains,  )'Oung  cocoa  nnts,  &c.,  the  whole  in  a  state  of  putrefac- 
tion, which  sends  an  offensive  smell  all  round  the  place.  A  large  space 
on  One  side  of  the  fence  was  broken  down,  and  a  heap  of  rough  stones  laid 
in  the  gap  :  upon  these  stones,  and  ni  a  line  with  the  fence,  were  placed 
what  they  call  tees  ;  these  were  boards  from  six  to  seven  feet  high,  cut 
into  various  shapes.  At  a  corner  near  this  stood  a  house  and  two  sheds, 
where  men  constantly  attended.  They  entered  the  house,  and  found  at 
one  end  the  little  house  or  ark  of  the  eatooa ;  it  was  made  exactly  like 
those  they  set  on  their  canoes,  but  smaller,  being  about  four  feet  long, 
and  three  in  height  and  breadth.  As  it  contained  nothing  but  a  few 
pieces  of  cloth,  they  inquired  where  they  had  hid  the  eatooa  ;  they  answer- 
ed, that  it  had  been  taken  in  the  morning  to  a  small  morai  near  the  water- 
side, but  that  they  would  immediately  bring  it,  which  they  did  in  about 
half  an  hour.  Though  the  English  had  not  viewed  this  place  without  feel- 
ing for  the  poor  creatures,  yet,  when  they  laid  their  eatooa  on  the  ground, 
they  could  hardly  restrain  a  laugh.  It  was  in  shape  exactly  like  a  sailor's 
hammock  lashed  up,  and  composed  of  two  parts,  the  larger  one  just  the 
size  of  the  house,  and  the  lesser,  which  was  lashed  upon  it,  was  about 
half  that  size  ;  at  the  ends  were  fastened  little  bunches  of  red  and  yellow 
feathers,  the  offerings  of  the  wealthy. 

On  their  way  back  they  called  to  see  the  body  of  Orepiah,  as  preserved 
in  a  tupapow^ :  he  had  not  been  many  months  dead,  and  was  now  in  a 
perfectly  dry  state.  The  man  to  whom  the  performance  of  this  opera- 
tion was  entrusted  lived  close  by,  and  came  near  when  he  saw  them.  He 
seemed  quite  willing  to  oblige,  and  asked  if  they  would  like  to  see  the 
body  unshrouded  ;  for,  as  it  lay,  nothmg  could  be  seen  but  the  feet. 
Answering  in  the  affirmative,  he  drew  it  out  upon  the  uncovered  stage, 
and  took  several  wrappers  of  cloth  off  it ;  and,  laughing  all  the  while, 
placed  the  corpse  in  a  sitting  posture.  The  body  had  been  opened,  but 
the  skin  everywhere  else  was  unbroken,  and,  adhering  close  to  the  bones, 
it  appeared  like  a  skeleton  covered  with  oil-cloth.  It  had  little  or  no 
smell,  and  would,  notwithstanding  the  heat  of  the  climate,  remain  so 
preserved  for  a  considerable  time.  The  method  they  take  for  this  is, 
to  clear  the  body  of  the  entrails,  brain,  &c. ;  then  washing  it  well ;  they 
Tub  it  daily  outside  and  in  with  cocoa  nut  oil,  till  the  flesh  is  quite  dried 
up  ;  after  which  they  leave  it  to  the  all-destroying  hand  of  Time.  This 
tupapow  was  constructed  by  driving  four  long  stakes  in  the  ground,  about 
six  feet  asunder,  lengthwise,  and  four  in  breadth  :  besides  these,  two 
others,  not  so  long  by  three  feet,  are  driven  on  a  line,  and  six  feet  from 
the  former  four ;  a  stage  is  then  made  at  the  height  of  the  shortest  two, 
and  the  corpse  being  laid  at  one  end,  a  thatched  roof  is  raised  upon  the 
four  highest  stakes,  to  shelter  it  from  the  rain ;  the  vacant  part  of  the 
stage  is  to  pull  it  upon,  either  for  rubbing  with  the  oil,  or  exhibiting  it  to 
the  friends  and  relations  of  the  deceased.  On  the  adjoining  trees  plan- 
tains and  bread  fruit  hung  for  the  use  of  the  dead.  They  asked  them 
where  they  thought  his  spirit,  or  thinking  part,  had  gone  1  At  this  they 
smiled,  and  said,  "  Harre  po,"  that  is,  "  Gone  to  the  night." 

They  were  now  extremely  anxious  to  ascertain  the  population  of  the 
island,  which,  from  a  variety  of  circumstances,  appeared  to  them  infi- 
nitely less  populous  than  as  represented  by  Captain  Cook  and  others. 
For  this  purpose  two  or  three  of  them  set  off,  accompanied  by  Peter,  the 


JllSSlONARY  VOYAGB. 


369 


Swede,  as  interpreter.  Stopping  at  the  house  of  Inona  Madui,  widow 
of  Orepiah,  they  communicated  their  purpose  to  her  head  servant,  Aheins 
Eno,  apparently  an  intelligent  fellow,  who  instantly  suggested  a  mode  of 
counting,  which  they  afterward  adopted.  He  said  that  in  Whyripoo 
there  were  four  matteynas,  and  to  each  matteyna  there  were  ten  tees. 
A  matteyna,  he  said,  was  a  principal  house,  distinguished  either  by  a  de- 
gree of  rank  in  its  ancient  or  present  ov^ner,  or  by  a  portion  of  land  being 
attached  to  it  ;  and  sometimes  on  account  of  its  -central  situation  to  a 
few  other  houses.  It  sets  up  a  tee  or  image  at  the  moral,  which  enti- 
tles it  to  the  liberty  of  worshipping  there,  and  the  other  hou-ses  claim  a 
part  in  the  same  privilege,  and  are  thence  called  tees ;  from  what  they 
saw,  allowing  six  persons  to  each  matteyna  and  tee,  the  population  is  as 
follows  ; 


Districts. 


1  Whyripoo     ...     - 

2  Whapiawno  -    -     -    - 

3  Wharoomy   -     -    -     - 

4  Ilewow 

5  liahbdhboonea  -     -     - 

6  Honoowhyah     -    -    - 

7  Nahnu  Nahnoo      -    - 

8  Ot-yayree  .  -    -    -     - 

9  Wha-ah-heinah      -    - 

10  Hcdeah 

11  Part  of  Terrawow  on 
this  side  of  the  isthmus 
uninhabited. 

12  Wy-eree 

13  Wyooreede  .... 

14  Attemonoo    ...     - 

15  Pappara 

IG  Ahaheinah     -     -     -     - 

17  Atahourou     -     -     -     - 

18  Tettaha 

19  Oparree 

20  Matavai 


Presiding  Chiefs. 


[nna  Madua 

Wylouah 

Wyreede  Aowh       *     -     - 
Maune  Manne   -    -    -     - 

Otoo 

Ditto 

Pomarrey 

Noe  Noe 

Roorah  and  3  more      -     - 
Inna  Madua  -     -  -     - 


Maahe-hanoo  (female) 
Tayreedc  (wife  of  Tcmarre) 

Ditto 

Ditto 

Ditto 

Ditto 

Pomarrey      -..>.. 

Ditto 

Missionaries      .    s.    .    . 


-Mat. 

Tees.! 
6 

4 

28 

233 

1 

9 

2 

11 

1 

8 

3 

28 

3 

18 

2 

23 

4 

53 

42 

1G7 

32 

42 

13 

161 

2 

24 

17 

157 

8 

105 

25 

243 

12 

130 

IG 

199 

27 

110 

Total  of  men,  women,  and  cMldrcn,  in  Otaheite 
Ditto  in  Tiarrabou 


Total  on  the  whole  island 


No.  of 
Souls. 

264 

1596 

60 

7S 

54 

18G 

126 

144 

312, 

12M 


444 
1044 

156 
1044 

678 
1608 

852 

1290 

22 

11,242 
4,008 

15,250 


In  the  dusk  of  the  evening  of  the  27th,  one  of  the  seamen,  William 
Tucker,  made  his  escape  from  the  ship.  About  ten  at  night  a  native 
paddled  off,  calling  out,  as  he  approached  the  ship,  "  All's  well."  His 
business,  it  seemed,  v/as  to  communicate  something  concerning  Tucker  ; 
but  he  was  so  stupified  with  ava,  that  he  could  not  articulate  a  word. 
The  coming  of  another  canoe  explamed  the  matter.  In  this  last  were 
three  of  the  missionaries,  Iddeah,  two  of  Otoo's  servants,  and  Tucker 
bound,  who  cursed  Otoo  heartily  for  his  treachery.  It  appears  that  Otoo 
had  been  privy  to  the  whole  affair,  and  had  himself  daily  fed  Tucker. 

August  4th.  Light  airs  of  wind.  At  eight,  A.  M  ,  weighed  anchor, 
and  stood  out  of  Matavai  Bay.  When  to  leeward  of  Huaheiae,  canoea 
came  alongside  ;  in  one  of  them  was  Connor,  one  of  the  Matilda's  crew. 
To  their  astonishment,  he   had  forgotten  his  native  tongue,  being  able 


370  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

to  recollect  only  a  few  words  :  and  if  he  began  a  sentence  in  Ei.glish,  h^ 
was  obliged  to  finish  it  in  the  language  of  the  islands.  At  noon  next  day 
were  no  farther  than  between  Otaha  and  Bolabola.  A  few  canoes  came 
off  from  both  islands  ;  but  as  it  was  Sunday,  agreeably  to  the  rule  inva- 
riably followed,  they  had  no  intercourse  with  them.  On  the  I7ih,  came 
in  sight  of  Eooa,  and  next  day  moored  ship  in  the  harbour  of  Tongata- 
boo.  Before  they  had  anchored,  George  Veeson,  one  of  the  missiona- 
ries, came^off,  and  informed  them  that  the  brethren  were  all  well,  Isaac 
Nobbs  excepted ;  and  that,  for  reasons  judged  most  prudent,  they  had 
separated  into  small  parties,  and  were  now  with  different  chiefs.  Bowell 
and  Harper  were  together  with  a  chief  named  Vaarjee,  who  resides  at  a 
place  called  Ardco,  Veeson  with  Mulicemar,  a  chief  of  the  district  of 
Ahoge,  thirty  miles  from  Aheefo,  and  Cooper  with  Mooree  at  Ahoge, 
the  rest  were  still  at  Aheefo. 

At  the  funeral  of  Moondoe,  who  died  in  April,  brother  Bowell  went 
with  Ambler  to  Bunghye  to  see  the  ceremony,  and  found  about  4000 
persons  sitting  round  the  place  where  the  fiatooka  stands.  A  few  mi- 
nutes after  their  arrival  they  heard  a  great  shouting  and  blowing  o(  conch 
shells  at  a  small  distance  ;  soon  after  about  100  men  appeared,  armed 
with  clubs  and  spears,  and  rushing  into  the  area,  began  to  cut  and  man- 
gle themselves  in  a  most  dreadful  manner  ;  many  struck  their  heads  vio- 
lently with  their  clubs  ;  and  the  blows,  which  might  be  heard  thirty  or 
forty  yards  off,  they  repeated  till  the  blood  ran  down  in  streams.  Others, 
w^ho  had  spears,  thrust  them  through  their  thighs,  arms,  and  cheeks,  all 
the  while  calling  on  the  deceased  in  a  most  affectionate  manner.  A 
native  of  I^eejee,  who  had  been  a  servant  of  the  deceased,  appeared 
quite  frantic  ;  he  entered  the  area  with  fire  in  his  hand,  and  having  pre- 
viously oiled  his  ha'r,  set  it  on  fire,  and  r-an  about  with  it  all  on  flame. 
When  they  had  satisfied  themselves  with  this  manner  of  torjpient,  they 
sat  down,  beat  their  faces  with  their  fists,  and  then  retired.  A  second 
party  went  through  the  same  cruelties,  and  after  them  a  third  entered, 
shouting  and  blowing  the  shells:  four  of  the  foremost  held  stones, 
which  they  used  to  knock  out  their  teeth  ;  those  who  blew  the  shells 
cut  their  heads  with  them  in  a  shocking  manner.  A  man  that  had  a 
spear  run  it  through  his  arm  just  above  the  elbow,  and,  with  it  sticking 
fast,  ran  about  the  area  for  some  time.  Another,  who  seemed  to  be  a 
principal  chief,  acted  as  if  quite  bereft  of  his  senses  ;  he  ran  to  every 
corner  of  the  area,  and  at  each  station  beat  his  head  with  a  club  til!  the 
blood  flowed  over  his  shoulders.  A  great  heava  or  mai  was  performed  at 
the  fiatooka  of  Moomoe  ;  first  by  women  in  their  best  garments  and  finest 
mats  :  pieces  of  English  cloth  or  silk  were  added  as  ornaments  ;  the 
perfumed  cocoa  nut  oil  dropping  from  their  hair.  Two  drums  and  a 
vocal  concert  of  men  sitting  round  accompanied  the  women,  who  also 
sung  and  danced,  performing  various  evolutions  in  a  most  graceful  man- 
mer.  An  old  chief  at  intervals  called  out,  "  fyfogee,"  or,-  encore,  and 
sometimes  "  marea,"  or,  well  done. 

The  natives  expressed  much  surprise  at  observing  how  different  the 
missionary  manners  were  from  those  of  their  countrymen,  whose  time  is 
spent  in  idleness  and  profligacy.  One  of  them  has  four  wives,  another 
three,  and  the  other  two.  With  such  men  it  was  impossible  for  them  to 
maintain  any  fellowship,  and  their  envy  and  enmity  they  bitterly  experi- 
enced. Ambler  and  Morgan  having  heard  that  they  suspected  them  of 
havinqr  driven  off  their  hogs,  came  to  their  house  and  began  to  abuse  them  ; 
and  Morgan  even  kicked  one  of  their  number.     Seeing  them  determined 


MISSIONARY  rOYAGE.  371 

to  proceed  farther,  a  scuffle  ensued  ;  Morgan  again  struck  with  his  clu> 
the  person  he  had  before  kicked,  but  the  blow  did  no  great  injury.  They 
then  desisted,  finding  themselves  overpowered,  but  not  from  uttering  the 
most  horrid  execrations  both  on  them  and  also  on  themselves,  if  they  did 
not  prove  bitter  enemies,  and  murder  them  before  morning. 

The  government  of  Tongataboo  is  so  complex  in  itself,  and  the  natives' 
account  of  it  so  different,  each  taking  a  particular  pride  in  exalting  his 
own  chief  above  others,  that  it  is  difficult  to  come  to  any  certainty  con- 
cerning it.     The  following  appears  most  consistent  with  the  truth  : 

This  island  bears  an  unrivalled  sovereignty  over  the  whole  group, 
Feejee  not  excepted.  The  inhabitants  of  Feejee  having  long  ago  dis- 
covered this  island,  frequently  invaded  and  committed  great  cruelties  in 
it ;  but  in  an  expedition  which  the  Tonga  people  made  against  them  lately, 
under  the  command  of  Tongahowe,  Filatonga,  and  Cummavie,  they  com- 
pletely routed  and  brought  them  into  subjection,  so  that  they  now  pay 
tribute  to  Tongataboo  on  certain  occasions,  the  same  as  the  otlier  islands, 
of  which  they  saw  an  instance  at  the  death  of  Moomooe.  '  Tongataboo  is 
divided  into  three  large  districts,  viz.,  Aheefo,  at  the  north-west  end, 
over  which  Dugonaboota  reigns  with  absolute  sway,  Mooa,  the  middle 
district,  is  under  the  same  subjection  to  Futtafaihe ;  and  Vaharlo  has  the 
same  power  over  Ahoge,  situate  at  the  south-east  part,  each  claiming  a 
right  of  disposal  over  the  lives  and  property  of  his  own  subjects,  which  the 
English  have  seen  exercised  most  despotically. 

The  people  fully  answer  to  the  most  favourable  representations  the  world 
has  ever  received  of  them  ;  for  surely  no  appellation  was  ever  better  ap- 
plied than  that  given  to  them  by  our  countrymen,  of  which  they  seem  very 
proud,  since  the  brethren  made  them  acquainted  with  it,  and  very  studious 
to  render  themselves  more  deserving  of  it.  They  possess  many  excellent 
qualities,  which,  were  they  enlightened  with  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel, 
would  render  them  the  most  amiable  people  on  earth ;  for  histance,  their 
bounty  and  liberality  to  strangers  is  very  great,  and  their  generosity  to  one 
another  unequalled.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  them  to  complain  they 
are  dying  of  hunger,  and,  as  soon  as  they  receive  food,  to  divide  it  among 
as  many  as  are  present,  the  first  receiver  generally  leaving  himself  the 
smallest  share,  and  often  none  at  all. 

Their  marriages  are  attended  with  very  little  ceremony  ;  the  only  one 
seen  was  that  of  Vaarjee,  with  whom  brothers  Bowell  and  Harper  were 
sometimes  resident.  This  was  conducted  in  the  following  manner  :  A 
young  female  having  attracted  his  attention,  he  first  informed  his  mother 
that  he  wished  to  add  her  to  the  number  of  his  wives.  She  immediately 
communicated  this  to  the  damsel's  father,  and  the  proposal  meeting  his 
approbation,  he  clothed  her  in  a  new  garment,  and  with  attendants,  and 
such  a  quantity  of  baked  hogs,  yams,  yava  root,  &c.,  as  he  could  afford, 
she  was  sent  to  her  intended  spouse,  who,  being  apprized  of  her  coming, 
seated  himself  in  his  house,  and  received  her  in  the  same  manner  and  with 
as  little  emotion  as  he  would  have  done  any  other  visiter  ;  feasting  on  the 
provisions,  and  a  good  draught  of  yava  concluded  the  whole,  and  the  bride 
was  at  liberty  either  to  return  to  her  father  till  again  sent  for,  or  take  up 
her  residence  with  her  husband,  which  in  this  instance  she  preferred, 

Futtafaihe,  on  one  occasion,  roasted  a  large  hog  for  dinner,  after  which 
he  accompanied  them  to  the  fiatookas  of  his  ancestors  :  they  he  ranged 
in  a  line  eastward  from  his  house,  among  a  grove  of  trees,  and  are  many 
in  number,  and  of  different  constructions  ;  some  in  a  square  form  were 
not  iu  the  least  raised  above  the  level  of  the  common  ground  ;  a  row  of 


Profile  of  the  stejis. 


S7'2  VOYAGES  RODNO  THE  VfORLt) 

large  stones  formed  the  sides,  and  at  each  corner  two  high  stones  wero 
placed  upright  at  right  angles  to  each  other,  and  in  a  line  with  their  re- 
spective sides  ;  others  were  such  as  ihe  brethren  describe  that  of  Moo- 
mooe  to  be,  and  a  third  sort  were  built  square  like  the  first ;  the  largest 
of  which  was  at  the  base  156  feet  b)'  140;  it  had  four  steps  from  the 
bottom  to  the  top,  that  run  quite  round  the  rp 

pile  ;  one  stone  composed  the  height  of  each  -^^^^P-  - 

step,  a  part  of  it  being  sunk  in  the  ground  ; 
and  some  of  these  stones  in  the  wall  of  the 
lower  are  immensely  large  ;  one,  which  they  .,. 

measured,  was  twenty-four  feet  by  twelve,  ^        ' 

and  two  feet  thick  ;  these  Futtafaihe  inform- 
ed them  were  brought  in  double  canoes 
from  the  Island  of  Lefooga.     They  arc  coral  ,. ,  , 

stone,  and  are  hewn  into  a  tolerably  good  ^ 

shape,  both  with  respect  to  the  straightness 
of  their  sides  and  the  flatness  of  their  surfaces. 
They  are  now  so  hardened  by  the  weather,  ^,  ^ 
that  the  great  difficulty  they  had  in  breaking  ^ 
a  specimen  of  one  corner  made  it  not  easy 
to  conjecture  how  the  labour  of  hewing  them 
at  first  had  been  effected  ;  as,  by  the  marks 
of  antiqu'ty  which  some  of  them  bear,  they 
must  have  br^en  built  long  before  Tasman  showed  the  natives  an  iron  tool. 

On  the  7th  of  September  weighed,  and  sailing  from  Tongataboo  by  the 
northern  passage,  passed  close  ^  the  small  islands  of  Honga  Harpy  and 
Honga  Tonga.  They  had  brisk  gales  and  a  hollow  sea  all  the  night  ;  ex- 
tensive reefs  surrounded  them.  In  viewing  their  situation  from  aloft  it 
appeared  very  critical,  and  occasioned  the  island  already  to  be  called 
Danger  Island.  At  daybreak,  on  tha  13th,  bore  away,  and  ran  along  ths 
north  side  of  Sir  Charles  Middleton's  Islands.  At  nine  o'clock  at  night, 
no  danger  appearing,  they  thought  themselves  safe  ;  but  were  presently 
alarmed  by  the  ship  striking  upon  a  coral  reef,  upon  which  the  sea  hardly 
broke,  to  give  the  leastwarning.  All  hands  were  upon  deck  in  an  instant^ 
and,  as  she  stuck  fast,  became  under  great  apprehensions  of  being  ship- 
wrecked ;  a  misfortune  which  presented  itself  with  a  thousand  frightful 
ideas.  Judging  it  to  be  a  weather  reef,  the  moment  she  struck  the  sails 
were  hove  aback,  and  in  about  five  or  six  minutes  they  beheld  with  joy 
that  she  came  astern,  and  shortly  after  was  quite  afloat ;  when  they  were 
again  delivered  from  their  fears,  and  found  the  ship,  which  had  kept  up- 
right the  whole  time,  seemed  to  have  received  no  injury. 

16th.  Observed  at  noon,  in  latitude  13  degrees  13  minutes  south,  and 
at  five,  P.  M.,saw  the  Island  of  Rotumah,  bearing  north-west  by  west.  At 
eight,  A.  M.,  on  the  25th,  saw  land  from  the  mast-head  bearing  north-west 
by  north,  and  immediately  steered  for  it.  About  five  o'clock  in  the  eve- 
ning, as  they  drew  near  to  the  land,  found  that  it  consisted  of  ten  or  eleven 
separate  islands,  two  or  three  of  which  were  of  considerable  size,  and  saw 
a  canoe  coming  toward  them,  in  which  were  two  men  ;  they  approached 
within  hail,  but  would  come  no  nearer. 

The  largest  of  this  group  they  named  Disappointment  Island,  and  the 
whole  cluster  DufTs  Group.  On  the  following  day  again  saw  land  in  the 
south-west  quarter,  and  steered  for  it,  which  proved  to  be  Swallow  Island 
nnd  Volcano  Island  ;  and  farther  to  the  south-west  they  could  discern 
Egmont  Island  ;  all  these  were  discovered  by  Captain  Carteret.     On  the 


MISSIONARY  VoYAGii.  3t3 

26th  of  October  came  in  sight  of  a  low  island  bearing  west  by  north,  and 
presently  perceived  some  canoes  coming  toward  them.  Just  at  this  time 
William  Tucker  and  John  Connelly  were  discovered  swimming  close  under 
the  stern,  with  a  view  to  make  their  escape  lo  the  canoes,  and  by  their 
ckulking  appeared  afraid  of  being  fired  at ;  but  the  captain,  enraged  at  the 
former  for  his  ingi'atitude  and  deceit,  and  willing  to  part  with  the  latter, 
told  them,  that  if  they  chose  to  go  they  might,  fdr  he  would  not  fire  at 
them.  Connelly  answered,  "Thank  you,  sir;"  and  ihey  both  swam  to 
the  canoes,  and  were  received  by  the  savages  with  great  shoutings.  Soon 
after,  a  breeze  springing  up  from  the  northeast,  ihey  resumed  their  course 
and  left  them  behind.  Connelly  was  brought  by  force  from  Tongataboo 
for  threatening  the  missionaries.  They  did  not  imagine  a  third  person 
could  be  found  willing  to  follow  their  example  ;  but  such  is  the  prevalence 
of  habit  and  the  enervating  infiuence  of  idleness  over  the  mind,  that 
Andrew  Cornelius  Lind  came  to  the  captain,  and  begged  earnestly  to  be 
set  on  shore  upon  the  next  island  they  should  discover.  To  this  request 
not  only  consent  was  given,  but  likewise  a  promise  to  let  him  have  a  se* 
Section  of  useful  articles  wherewith  to  benefit  the  natives,  and  the  better 
to  introduce  and  give  him  importance  among  thom.  26th.  At  midnight 
they  saw  another  island,  and  as  the  day  broke  shortly  after,  counted  six 
of  these  low  islands ;  and  soon  had  a  great  number  of  canoes  about  the 
ship,  into  one  of  which  Andrew,  after  taking  leave  of  his  shipmates,  went, 
and  was  received  with  joy  by  the  savages. 

27th.  About  ten,  A.  M.,  came  in  sight  of  another  low  island.  About 
four,  A.  M.,  next  day,  discovered  other  islands.  About  this  time  it  fell 
calm,  which  continued  ;  and  at  daybreak  counted  six,  which  might,  from 
their  size,  merit  the  name  of  islands,  and  seven  isles  or  keys ;  to  the 
whole  of  which  they  gave  the  name  of  the  Thirteen  Islands.  To  visit 
the  Pelew  Islands  being  their  next  object,  they  accordingly  shaped  a 
course  thither,  but  had  rather  a  tedious  passage  of  nine  days,  owing  to 
light  and  variable  winds.  On  the  6th,  when  it  became  more  settled,  got 
sight  of  the  land,  bearing  west-south-west,  distant  ten  or  eleven  leagues. 
When  they  hove-to  they  were  opposite  to  the  southern  part  of  the  dis- 
trict of  Artingall.  Two  hundred  persons  or  more  were  collected  upon 
the  beach,  and  presently  about  a  dozen  canoes  were  seen  upon  the  water, 
some  of  which  were  under  sail,  and  others  paddling  ;  but  as  the  weather 
at  this  time  wore  a  most  gloomy  aspect,  three  of  them  only  came  far 
enough  off  to  get  alongside.  This  was  all  the  intercourse  they  had  with 
the  Pelew  islanders,  a  circumstance  much  regretted  by  them,  as  it  had  all 
along  been  the  captain's  intention  to  stay  here  a  few  days,  for  the  purpose 
of  learning  what  they  could  of  the  inhabitants  respecting  the  expediency 
of  settling  a  mission  among  them,  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  missiona- 
ries, by  distributing  some  useful  articles  retained  in  the  ship. 

November  21st.  At  ten  o'clock,  A.  M.,  passed  between  the  Grand 
Lemma  and  Potoy,  and  leaving  all  the  islands,  except  Lingting,  to  the 
south,  sailed  through  with  a  fine  easterly  breeze.  At  three,  P.  M.,  came 
in  sight  of  Macao,  and  at  half-past  four  anchored  in  the  road,  the  town 
bearing  west  two  leagues. 

January  2d.  Three  English  men-of-war  and  seven  of  the  Bombay  cotton 
ships  were  at  anchor,  waiting  for  the  Duff  to  sail  with  them.  Everything 
relative  to  the  fleet's  departure  being  arranged,  and  the  ships  in  readi- 
ness, early  on  the  5th  they  put  to  sea.  On  the  10th  passed  Pulo  Sapata, 
and  continuing  their  course,  at  two,  A.  M.,  on  the  16th,  canle-to  with  the 
small  bower  in  Malacca  road.     On  the  20th  sailed  with  the  fleet.     The 

33 


S71  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

16th  of  March,  in  the  morning,  made  the  Cape  Land,  and  fell  in  with 
two  transports  froai  Amboyna.  At  night  hove-to,  and  waited  for  day  to 
run  for  Table  Bay.  In  a  few  days  they  had  got  what  water  and  stock 
were  wanted,  but  it  was  not  until  the  1st  of  April  that  the  signal  for  sail- 
ing was  made,  and  they  pat  to  sea,  with  the  addition  of  the  transport 
Bellona  to  their  fleet.  On  the  23d  of  June  saw  the  coast  of  Ireland, 
west  of  Kinsale.  On  the  8th  of  July  passed  the  Downs;  on  the  llth 
came  to  anchor  in  the  River  Thames,  and  in  a  few  days  discharged  their 
cargo  of  tea,  which  was  landed  in  as  perfect  order  as  they  received  it  ia 
China. 

CAPTAIN  D'ENTRECASTEAUX.— 1791-93. 

On  September  28th,  1791,  in  the  two  sloops.  La  Recherche  and  L'Es- 
perance,  of  sixteen  guns  and  110  men  each,  they  weighed  from  the  har- 
bour of  Brest,  completely  equipped  for  a  voyage  of  circumnavigating  the 
globe.  The  government  had  previously  sent  on  board  a  number  of  gen- 
tlemen, versed  in  astronomy,  natural  history,  botany,  painting.  &c  ,  and 
had  provided  an  apparatus  of  astronomical  instruments,  marine  time- 
pieces ;  in  fine,  every  article  that  appeared  likely  to  render  the  expedi- 
tion subservient  to  the  purposes  of  science.  The  conduct  of  the  expedi- 
tion was  assigned  to  Captain  D'Enirecasteaux.  The  leading  object  of 
the  voyage  was  to  endeavour  to  procure  intelligence  relative  to  Captain 
La  Perouse,  who  had  long  been  missing  in  the  South  Seas,  and  to  make 
a  complete  tour  of  New  Holland,  an  island  by  far  the  largest  in  the 
world,  comprehending  an  immense  circuit  of  at  least  5000  (French) 
leagues.  The  accomplishment  of  this  last  point  was  essential  to  the 
history  of  geography,  and  what  had  not  been  effected  by  either  Cook  or 
La  Perouse. 

The  first  port  they  made  was  Santa  Cruz,  in  Teneriffe  ;  they  arrived 
thereon  the  17th  of  October,  and,  having  taken  in  wines  and  provisions, 
proceeded  on  their  route  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  ;  and  while  they  con- 
tinued there,  the  expedition  sustained  a  considerable  misfortune  in  the 
death  of  the  astronomer  Bertrand.  February  16th,  1792,  they  left  the 
Cape,  and  bore  away  for  the  Island  of  New  Guinea,  some  parts  of  which 
they  explored  ;  they  reached  the  Islands  Arsacides  on  July  the  9th,  and 
New  Ireland  the  17th.  They  afterward  made  for  x\mboyna,  one  of 
the  Molucca  Islands,  and  arrived  September  Gth.  October  llth.  They 
left  Amboyna,  and  sailed  immediately  for  the  west  part  of  New  Holland, 
along  which  they  intended  to  coast,  as  being  the  least  known,  and  then 
to  proceed  along  the  southern  shore  ;  they  were  always  driven  back, 
however,  by  east  and  south-east  winds,  and  this  part  of  the  enterprise 
was  consequently  frustrated. 

December  3d,  1792,  they  arrived  at  the  cape  which  is  at  the  south- 
west extremity  of  New  Holland,  and  sailed  along  the  southern  shore  till 
January  3d,  having  by  this  means  traced  and  ascertained  about  two-thirds 
of  the  whole  extent  of  the  southern  coast.  In  consequence  of  the  want 
of  water  and  the  prevalence  of  high  south-easterly  winds,  they  bore  away 
for  the  Cape  de  Diernes,  the  south-east  extremity  of  this  extensive  island. 
In  this  part  of  the  southern  coast  they  observed  a  number  of  bold  and 
noble  harbours.  After  a  delay  here  of  three  weeks,  they  shaped  a  course 
for  New  Zealand,  and  afterward  for  the  Friendly  Islands. 

On  the  llth  of  March  they  passed  very  near  the  North  Cape  of  New 
Zealand,  and   making   for  the   shore,   several  canoes  came   alongside, 


D^ENTRECASTEAUi.  875 

They  procured  a  number  of  ornaments  from  the  savages,  and  parting 
from  them  reluctantly,  continued  their  route. 

On  the  16th  they  discovered  two  small  islands  at  a  little  distance  from 
each  other.  The  most  eastern  one  lies  in  30  degrees  17  minutes  south 
latitude,  and  in  179  degrees  41  minutes  east  longitude.  On  the  17th 
discovered  an  island  about  five  leagues  in  circumference,  conspicuous  by 
its  elevated  situation.  It  lies  in  29  degrees  3  minutes  south  latitude,  and 
in  179  degrees  54  minutes  east  longitude.  On  the  2d  of  March  they  saw 
Eboua,  the  most  south-westerly  of  the  Friendly  Islands.  The  next  day 
arxchored  at  Tongataboo,  the  largest  of  the  Frendly  Islands.  A  multitude 
of  canoes  crowded  about  them,  and  the  beach  was  soon  covered  with  the 
natives,  who  welcomed  their  arrival  by  every  possible  expression  of  joy. 
This  satisfaction  was  sometimes  interrupted  by  the  imprudence  of  somo 
of  their  people,  and  sometimes  by  the  excessive  curiosity  of  the  islanders, 
to  see  and  possess  everything  that  was  European.  After  a  tedious  voy- 
age, which  had  often  forced  them  to  put  into  uninhabited  places,  how 
grateful  was  the  satisfaction  they  experienced  to  find  themselves  so  hos- 
pitably entertained  by  a  people  among  whom  civilization  is  already  con- 
siderably advanced.  Among  these  islanders  they  frequently  meet  with 
men  six  feet  high,  their  limbs  shaped  in  the  most  comely  proportion.  The 
fertility  of  the  soil,  which  exempted  them  from  the  necessity  of  extreme 
labour,  may  conduce  not  a  little  to  the  unusual  perfection  of  their  forms. 
Their  features  have  a  strong  resemblanca  to  those  of  Europeans.  A 
burning  sky  has  impressed  a  slight  discolour  on  their  skins.  Tnose 
among  the  women  who  are  but  little  exposed  to  the  rays  of  the  sun,  are 
sufficiently  fair.  Some  of  them  are  distinguished  by  a  beautiful  carnation, 
which  gives  a  vivacity  to  their  whole  figure.  A  thousand  nameless  graces 
arc  visible  in  their  gestures,  when  engaged  in  the  slightest  employments. 
In  the  dance  their  movements  are  enchanting. 

The  language  of  this  people  bears  an  analogy  with  the  gentleness  of 
their  manners  ;  it  is  well  adapted  to  music,  for  which  they  have  a  pecu- 
liar taste.  Their  concerts,  wherein  every  one  performs  his  part,  demon- 
strate the  just  ideas  which  they  entertain  of  harmony.  The  women,  as 
well  as  the  men,  have  their  shoulders  and  breasts  naked.  A  cotton  cloth, 
or  rather  a  piece  of  stuff  manufactured  with  the  bark  of  mulberry  tree 
into  paper,  serves  them  for  apparel.  It  forms  a  beautiful  draper}',  reach- 
ing from  a  little  above  the  waist  down  to  the  feet.  The  art  of  pottery 
has  made  some  progress  among  them.  They  saw  several  vases  of  potter's 
earth,  tolerably  well  baked,  in  which  they  preserved  their  water  ;  these 
vases  are  manufactured  in  an  island  named  Seidgy,  lying,  according  to 
the  best  accounts  they  could  gather,  about  one  hundred  leagues  north  of 
the  place  where  they  were  to  anchor.  These  islands  produce  a  species 
of  nutmegs,  which  differ  very  little  in  form  from  those  of  the  Moluccas. 
They  are,  however,  aromatic,  and  almost  twice  as  large.  They  collected 
in  the  island  a  number  of  objects  which  may  prove  useful  for  the  study  of 
natural  history.  They  also  procured  the  bread  fruit  tree,  for  the  purpose 
of  transporting  it  into  the  West  India  Islands  ;  they  were  obliged  to  leave 
it,  however,  at  Sourabaya,  in  the  Island  of  Java.  At  their  departure 
from  thence  they  took  a  receipt  from  La  liaye,  the  Dutch  gardener  there, 
for  eleven  young  plants  of  this  invaluable  tree,  and  as  many  roots  and 
{stocks,  all  in  prime  condition,  which  they  had  brought  away  from  the 
Friendly  Islands,  after  having  had  them  nearly  eleven  months  in  their 
possession.  The  roots  and  plants  together  amount  to  twenty-two,  all  in 
high  jtroservation  ;  and  as  the  tree  grows  very  rapidly,  this  quantity  will 


3f6  VdVAGES  ROtlND  THE  WORLi) 

suffice  to  replenish  the  islands  with  them  in  six  or  eight  years  time.  They 
A^ere  at  Jarnarang,  in  the  Island  of  Java,  on  the  20th  of  March,  1795. 
They  must  not  confound  these  excellent  species  of  bread  fruit  tree  with  the 
wild  species  of  it  found  in  the  Moluccas,  and  observed  for  a  long  time 
past  in  the  Isle  of  France.  In  this  second  sort  the  grains  do  not  mis- 
carry, while  in  the  gocd  fruit  tree  they  are  replaced  by  a  food  truly  deli- 
cious, when  baked  under  ashes  or  in  the  oven.  In  other  respects  it  is  a 
most  wholesome  viaud,  affording  a  pleasant  repast  during  the  v^hole  time 
of  their  continuance  on  this  island,  and  for  which  they  willingly  relin- 
quished the  ship's  stock  of  baker's  bread.  The  Molucca  sort  produces 
thirty  or  forty  small  fruits  ;  while  every  tree  of  the  Friendly  Islands 
nroduces  three  or  four  hundred  extremely  large,  of  an  oval  form,  the 
greatest  diameter  being  from  nine  to  ten  inches,  and  the  smallest  from 
seven  to  eight.  A  tree  would  be  oppressed  with  such  an  enormous  load 
if  the  fruit  were  to  ripen  ail  at  once  ;  but  sagacious  nature  has  so  ordered 
it,  that  the  fruit  succeed  each  other,  during  eight  months  of  the  year,  thus 
providing  the  nations  v/iih  a  food  equally  salubrious  and  plentiful.  Every 
tree  occupies  a  circular  space  of  about  thirty  feet  diameter.  A  single 
acre  occupied  by  this  vegetable  would  supply  the  wants  of  a  number  of 
families.  Nothing  in  nature  exhibits  a  similar  fecundity.  As  it  produces 
no  seeds,  it  has  a  wonderful  faculty  of  throwing  out  suckers  ;  and  its 
roots  frequently  force  their  way  up  to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  there 
give  birth  to  fresh  plants.  It  thrives  exceedingly  in  a  tropical  climate, 
in  a  soil  somewhat  elevated  above  the  level  of  the  sea  ;  and  suits  very 
well  with  a  marly  soil  in  which  a  mixture  of  argillaceous  clay  prepon- 
derates. 

They  quitted  the  Friendly  Islands  on  the  10th  of  April,  1793.  The 
next  day  observed  a  small  island  named  Tortoise  April  15,  saw  Errouan," 
the  most  eastern  of  the  islands  of  the  archipelago  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
afterward  that  of  Anatom.  The  eruptions  of  the  volcano  of  Tana  pre- 
sented in  the  night  a  spectacle  truly  sublime.  April  27th,  steering  for 
New  Caladonia,  in  a  night  darker  than  usual,  they  ran  among  some 
islands  surrounded  with  breakers,  not  noticed  till  then  by  navigators  ; 
they  were  only  apprized  of  danger  by  an  uncommon  circumstance,  the 
flight  of  a  flock  of  sea-fowl  over  their  heads  about  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  This  indication  of  the  proximity  of  land  induced  the  officer 
upon  watch  to  slacken  sail,  and  lie-to,  at  a  critical  juncture,  when  an 
hour's  more  sailing  must  have  dashed  them  to  pieces  against  the  rocks. 
These  new-discovered  islands  lie  about  thirty  leagues  north-east  of  New 
Caledonia,  where  they  anchored  April  26th. 

y\fter  the  description  that  Cook  and  Forster  have  given  of  the  inhabi* 
tants  of  New  Zealand,  they  expected  to  find  realized  the  advantageous 
portrait  given  of  them  by  those  celebrated  voyagers.  They  had  reason^ 
however,  partly  to  suspend  their  belief  of  those  accounts,  when  they  af- 
terward observed  a  number  of  human  bones  broiled,  which  the  savages 
were  devouring,  eagerly  fastening  on  the  smallest  tendonous  parts  which 
adhere  to  them.  This  fact  at  least  suffices  to  prove  that  the  New  Zea- 
landers  are  cannibals.  They  often  attacked  their  boat ;  but  the  good 
countenance  exhibited  prevented  their  assailing  or  massacring  any  of 
their  company.  Notwithstanding  these  hostilities,  the  ship  was  every 
day  visited  by  numeious  bodies  of  the  islanders.  The  soil  being  every- 
where barren,  they  |)erceived  but  few  vestiges  of  any  taste  for  agriculture  j 
still,  however,  they  observed  in  some  gardens  the  Colocasia,  the  Caribbe 
cabbage,  the  banana  tree,  and  the  sugar-cane.     The  cocoa  tree  bear* 


D  ENTRECASTEAUX.  377 

but  very  diminutive  fruit,  the  water  of  which  is  far  from  being  pleasant. 
The  baibarous  customs  of  the  natives  did  not  prevent  their  reiteiated 
excursions  into  the  interior  parts  of  the  country.  On  these  occasions  they 
kept  together  to  the  number  of  twenty,  always  well  armed.  As  evening 
came  on,  they  commonly  took  their  station  on  some  elevated  post  in  thq 
mountains,  where  they  passed  the  night  in  a  situation  which  protected 
them  from  hostile  assualts.  To  guard  against  surprise,  they  kept  watch 
by  turns. 

Observations  made  for  twenty  days  together  in  this  extensive  region, 
of  which  Forster  had  but  a  ghmpse,  (being  sick  all  the  eight  days  of  his 
being  off  the  island,)  furnished  them  with  a  variety  of  novel  materials,  es- 
pecially in  the  vegetable  kingdom.  On  the  sixth  of  May  they  lost 
Citizen  Huon,  captain  of  the  Espewnce.  He  had  been  for  some  time 
before  afflicted  with  an  incurable  marasmus.  They  buried  him  in  Obser- 
vation Island.  May  9th,  they  weighed  anchor,  and  sailed  before  the 
wind  for  the  north.  In  their  course  observed  the  eastern  part  of  the 
reefs  and  islands,  the  western  side  of  which  they  saw  the  year  before. 

May  21st,  were  close  on  the  Island  of  St.  Croix,  and  sent  in  two  boats 
to  look  out  f^or  an  anchoring  place.  While  the  sailors  were  employed  in 
sounding,  one  of  the  natives,  at  a  distance  of  upward  of  eighty  paces, 
lanced  an  arrow,  which  slightly  wounded  the  forehead  of  one  of  them. 
A  volley  of  fire-arms,  however,  soon  dispersed  the  group  of  canoes  which 
had  surrounded  the  boats,  and  from  which  the  lance  proceeded.  Although 
the  wound  was  apparently  inconsiderable,  it  was  attended  with  a  te- 
tanus, which  proved  mortal  to  the  unfortunate  sailor  after  only  eight 
days.  The  arrow  did  not  appear  to  have  been  poisoned,  as  it  is  well 
known  that  beasts  pierced  with  the  same  weapons  do  not  experience 
any  fatal  symptoms.  In  India  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  the 
slightest  puncture  followed  by  a  spasm,  which  is  a  certain  forerunner 
of  death. 

After  this  they  proceeded  to  visit  the  Arsacides  Islands  and  that 
part  of  Louisiade  which  Bougainville  did  not  explgre,  the  northern  part 
of  which  is  very  difficult  of  access.  They  anchored  after  this  near 
some  very  lofty  mountains  on  the  south-east  co^st  of  New  Guinea. 
After  having  passed  through  Dampier's  Straits,  they  discovered  the 
northern  side  of  New  Britain.* 

July  16th  and  17th,  they  sailed  in  view  of  the  Anchoret  Islands  of 
Bougainville.  On  the  20th  they  lost  D'Entrecasteaux,  the  captain. 
He  died  of  convulsions,  every  fit  of  which  w^s  succeeded  by  a  speech- 
less stupor.  After  having  taken  some  notice  of  Traitor's  Islands  and 
part  of  the  elevated  lands  of  New  Guinea,  they  anchored  at  Waigiore. 

Augest  16th,  1793,  in  129  degrees  14  minutes  of  east  longitude,  and 
so  near  the  equator  that  they  were  only  half  a  minute  to  the  south. 
Here  the  inhabitants  brought  very  large  sea-tuitles,  the  soup  of  which 
tney  experienced  to  be  a  salutary  remedy  for  the  scurvy,  which  was  now 
prevalent  among  them.  In  this  island  they  procured  a  number  of  inte- 
resting objects,  and  quitted  it  August  the  29th,  and  sailed  for  Bouwo, 
where  they  anchored  September  the  3d,  1793.  In  this  mountainous  isle, 
where  the  productions  of  nature  are  extremely  varied,  they  had  a  favour- 

♦  The  whole  extent  of  this  navigation  is  extremely  dangerous  :  for  a  length 
of  twelve  hundred  leagues  (French)  a  line  of  rocks  or  breakers,  nearly  level 
with  the  water,  runs  adong  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  In  this  route  it  is  proba- 
ble that  the  unfortunate  La  Perouse  perished,  unless,  as  was  supposed  at  the 
time,  his  vessel  foundered  in  the  dreadful  tempest  of  December  31, 1788. 

32* 


378  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

able  opportunity  of  continuing  their  botanical  researches,  &c.  They 
passed  through  Button's  Straits,  fronri  September  23d  to  October  9th, 
frequently  coming  to  anchor  and  going  ashore  for  the  sake  of  enlarging 
their  collections.  Here  several  of  the  men  died  of  a  contagious  bilious 
dysentery,  contracted  in  the  low  marshy  grounds  of  this  country. 

October  28th,  1793,  cast  anchor  in  the  road  of  Soarabaya,  in  the  Isle 
of  Java.  Here  divisions  broke  out  among  the  crews,  in  consequence  of 
gaining  intelligence  of  the  farther  progress  of  the  French  revolution. 
D'Auribeau  hoisted  the  white  flag  February  19th,  1794,  and  surrendered 
the  two  vessels  to  the  Dutch.  He  also  seized  all  the  journals,  charts, 
and  memoirs,  which  were  connected  with  the  voyage,  and  arrested  all  those 
of  the  ships'  companies  that  were  obnoxious  to  his  own  political  sentiments. 
One  journal,  however,  was  fortunately  saved,  by  having  been  stowed  in  a 
box  of  tea.  In  this  hazardous,  yet  important,  voyage,  of  215  persons 
thirty-six  lost  their  lives  ;  the  astronomer,  Pearson,  died  at  Java  ;  and 
Ventcnat  at  the  Isle  of  France.  Riche,  the  naturalist,  remained  at  Java, 
as  well  as  Billadiere.  Lahay,  the  botanist,  also  stopped  there  ;  having 
under  his  care  the  bread  fruit  trees  brought  from  the  Friendly  Islands. 
Piron,  the  painter,  tarried  with  the  governor  of  Sourabaya ;  but  after- 
ward returned  to  Europe,  and  published  an  account  of  the  voyage. 


MR.  JOHN  TURNBULL.— 1800-1804. 

While  second  officer  in  the  Barwell,  in  her  last  voyage  to  China,  in 
1799,  the  first  officer  of  that  ship  (Mr.  John  Buyers)  and  Mr.  TurnbuU 
had  every  reason  to  suppose,  from  actual  observation,  that  the  Americans 
carried  on  a  most  lucrative  trade  to  the  north-west  of  that  vast  continent. 
Strongly  impressed  with  this  persuasion,  they  resolved,  on  their  return 
home,  to  represent  it  to  some  gentleman  of  well-known  mercantile  entei- 
prise.  They  approved  of  the  speculation,  and  lost  no  time  in  preparing 
for  its  execution. 

A  new  ship,  called  the  Margaret,  mounting  ten  carriage  guns,  with  two 
swivels,  and  a  proportionate  quantity  of  small  arms,  and  built  wholly  of 
British  oak,  was  at  length  purchased,  and  the  command  given  to  Mr. 
Buyers,  while  the  cargo  and  trading  part  were  intrusted  to  Mr.  Turnbull. 

They  proceeded  to  Portsmouth  in  the  latter  end  of  May,  1800;  and 
having  here  joined  the  Active  frigate  and  the  East  India  fleet,  proceeded 
on  their  voyage.  0:i  the  17th  of  July  had  sight  of  the  Island  of  Ma- 
deira ;  but  the  commodore  abandoning  all  hopes  of  reaching  Funchal 
roads  before  dark,  continued  under  sail  till  eight,  P.  M.,  and  then  hove-to, 
with  the  ship's  head  to  the  north-east,  tacking  occasionally  till  the  morn- 
ing. At  daylight  made  sail,  and  run  between  the  Desertas  and  the  island  ; 
and  the  morning  being  fine  and  clear,  and  the  island  at  not  more  than  six 
or  seven  miles  distance,  had  a  full  and  advantageous  view  of  it.  Fun- 
chal, the  largest  and  most  populous  town  of  the  island,  is  most  beautifully 
situated  on  the  south  side  of  the  declivity  of  a  hill  facing  the  sea;  the 
houses  rising  gradually  above  each  other,  till  they  reach  the  summit  of 
the  first  range  of  hills,  where  the  prospect  is  bounded  by  another  range, 
planted  with  vines  and  fruit  trees,  and  adorned  with  country  houses  and 
gardens.  The  peculiar  excellence  of  the  wines  is  in  a  great  degree  oc- 
casioned by  the  care  taken  in  selecting  the  largest  and  best  grapes  for 
that  of  the  first  quality  ;  the  next  best  for  the  second  quality.  Some 
of  these  grapes  are  as  large  as  an  English  plumb.     The  wine  of  the 


JOHN  TURNBULL.  379 

first  quality,  called  Madeira  Malmsey,  is  made  from  a  vine  imported  by 
one  of  the  Portuguese  princes  from  Candia.  A  very  small  quantity 
of  this  wine  is  made,  and  it  is  of  course  monopolized  for  the  best  houses. 
The  next  sort  is  what  is  ordinarily  drank  in  London  for  Madeira.  The 
price  of  Malmsey,  in  1811,  was  as  high  as  £80  per  pipe.  London  par- 
ticular £60  ;  and  London  Madeira  £40.  The  wines  of  inferior  quality 
are  generally  used  by  the  populace. 

The  anchorage  lies  about  one  mile  and  a  quarter  from  a  high  rock, 
separated  from  the  main  ocean  by  a  narrow  channel  of  from  forty  to  fifty 
yards  wide,  called  the  Loo  or  Lee  rock,  which  is  fortified  so  as  to  defend 
both  the  town  and  shipping  in  the  bay  against  any  sudden  attempt  or 
surprise  from  an  enemy.  This  island  is  reckoned  at  about  thirty-seven 
miles  in  length  by  eleven  in  breadth  ;  and,  according  to  the  latest  estimate, 
its  population  may  amount  to  65,000  inhabitants,  of  which  the  town  of 
Funchal,  the  capital,  forms  one-fifth. 

Leaving  Madeira  in  the  evening,  at  sunrise  on  the  morning  of  the  23d 
saw  the  Island  of  Palma,  one  of  the  Canaries,  or  Fortunate  Islands, 
bearing  south-west.  During  the  farther  progress  of  their  voyage  they 
were  so  hampered  by  the  southerly  winds,  and  a  current  setting  on  the 
American  coast,  as  to  have  approached  within  two  degrees  and  a  half  of 
the  coast  of  Brazil ;  and  the  vessel  being  new,  and  therefore  unseasoned, 
was  in  a  very  leaky  state.  These  circumstances  induced  them  to  bear 
up  for  St.  Salvador,  that  the  vessel  might  have  the  necessary  repairs 
previous  to  entering  into  high  latitudes.  This  city  is  large  and  populous, 
and  appears  divided  by.  nature  into  an  upper  and  lower  town.  The  upper 
is  seated  on  the  summit  of  an  eminence  ;  it  commands  an  uninterrupted 
view  of  the  bay  and  harbour  of  All-Saints,  the  sea  and  clouds  alono 
terminating  the  boundless  prospect.  It  is  the  seat  of  the  viceroy,  the 
civil  and  military  officers,  and  principal  merchants  ;  while  the  lower  town, 
which  contains  the  wharfs,  store-houses,  and  custom-house,  is,  for  the 
most  part,  occupied  by  inhabitants  of  the  inferior  order,  retail  tradesmen, 
adventurers,  and  persons  following  mechanical  trades.  The  houses  have 
lattice-windows  and  balconies  ;  but  the  streets  in  many  parts  of  the  town 
are  so  narrow,  that  two  neighbours  in  opposite  balconies  might  almost 
shake  hands.  The  population  is  estimated  at  from  90  to  100,000.  The 
inhabitants  may  be  classed  into  three  divisions,  whites,  mulattoes,  and 
blacks,  of  which  the  latter  is  by  somewhat  the  largest. 

In  the  dock-yard  a  ship  of  64  guns,  named  the  Principe  de  Brazil,  was 
on  the  stocks  ;  it  was  built  of  the  country  wood,  a  wood  of  a  species  of 
Indian  teek,  and  undoubtedly  much  stronger  than  any  European  oak. 
The  iron,  pitch,  and  tar,  are  understood  to  have  been  brought  from  Lis- 
bon, the  policy  of  the  parent-country  requiring  everythhig  wrought  or 
manufactured  to  be  imported  from  thence.  Tnis  yard,  from  its  commo- 
diousness,  and  still  more  from  its  capabilities  of  farther  improvement  and 
enlargement,  attracted  much  attention.  It  is  a  large  square  area  of  ground, 
immediately  fronting  the  water,  enclosed  on  all  sides  ;  and  its  internal 
arrangements  and  accommodations  are  on  a  scale  of  magnitude  and  con- 
venience which  would  not  disgrace  a  similar  establishment  in  Europe. 
There  are  houses,  apartments,  and  lodgings,  for  all  the  superior  and  under 
officers  ;  the  intendant  of  marine  and  master-builders  have  respectable 
accommodations,  and  the  blacksmith  and  other  handicraftsmen  are  com- 
fortably provided. 

On  quitting  this  harbour  they  gave  chase  to  every  sail  that  came  in 
sight ;  but,  though  they  brought-to  several,  they  all  proved  Portuguese 


380  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

On  the  7th  of  November,  at  noon,  they  saw  the  land  about  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  bearing  east  by  south,  distant  five  or  six  leagues.  At  noon 
brought  the  ship  to  an  anchor  in  Table  Bay,  Cape  Town  bearing  wesl- 
south-west,  distant  half  a  mile.  Their  stay  at  the  cape  had  now  been 
near  a  mopth,  and  it  was  necessary  to  obey  the  calls  of  business,  and 
proceed  on  the  voyage.  They  accordingly  took  an  affectionate  leave  of 
their  friends  on  the  evening  of  the  7th  of  December,  1800. 

For  the  first  ten  days  after  leaving  the  cape  had,  with  some  little  varia- 
tion, fair  winds  aud  moderate  weather  ;  but  at  midnight,  on  the  18th,  being 
in  latitude  40  degrees  14  minutes,  longitude  35  degrees  40  minutes,  they 
experienced  a  very  strong  gale  of  wind,  accompanied  with  showers  of 
sleet  and  hail-stones,  from  the  west.  At  eight  o'clock,  on  the  27th,  the 
column  on  the  south  head,  which  points  out  the  entrance  to  Port  Jack- 
son, bore  north  and  by  west,  distant  half  a  mile.  At  this  place  is  station- 
ed a  corporal  and  party,  for  the  purpose  of  communicating,  by  signal,  the 
intelligence  of  the  arrival  of  any  vessel  to  the  colonists  of  Sydney,  whoso 
distance  from  this  is  between  six  and  seven  miles.  A  pilot,  in  general, 
IS  in  attendance  here.  At  nine  brought  up  in  Neutral  Bay,  a  place  ap- 
pointed by  the  port  regulations  for  ships  to  anchor  in  previous  to  their 
entrance  into  Sydney  Cove,  and  to  make  their  report  to  the  governor. 
At  half-past  two  got  under  weight,  and  at  half-past  three  came  to  an 
anchor  in  this  most  beautiful  bason  of  water,  in  seven  fathoms,  in  most 
excellent  holding  ground,  and  within  half  a  pistol-shot  of  the  shore,  with- 
out one  sick  person  on  board.  The  captain  and  Mr.  Turnbull  agreed 
that  the  latter  should  continue  at  Port  Jackson  to  dispose  of  the  cargo  in 
the  best  manner  possible,  while  the  former  should  proceed  in  the  vessel 
upon  the  north-west  speculation,  which  he  did  on  the  9th  of  iVlarch,  1801. 

The  town  of  Sydney,  the  capital  of  the  colony  and  the  seat  of  the 
government,  is  divided  into  two  parts  by  a  river,  which  empties  itself  into 
a  cove  named  after  the  town.  Sydney  Cove  has  thus  a  double  advan- 
tage, that  of  being  well  and  plentifully  provided  with  excellent  water,  a)id 
at  the  same  time  possessing  a  harbour  which  might  contain  with  ease  all 
the  royal  navy  of  Great  Britain.  These  twofold  advantages  rendered  it 
much  more  eligible  than  Botany  Bay,  the  original  destination. 

The  police  of  the  colony  is  invested  in  the  magistrates,  who  are  ap- 
pointed by  the  governor,  one  or  more  to  each  principal  district.  Under 
them,  in  every  district,  is  a  head  and  petty  constable,  and  for  the  better 
preservation  of  order,  a  certain  number  of  watchmen,  where  the  circum- 
stances seem  to  require  it.  The  celebrated  George  Barrington  held  the 
office  of  high-constable  of  Paramatta  for  many  years,  and  in  the  faithful 
and  vigorous  discharge  of  his  duty  acquitted  himself  much  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  government.  But  he  was  now  a  mere  living  skeleton  ;  he 
was  emaciated,  and  apparently  in  the  last  stage  of  human  life.  Having 
absolutely  lost  the  use  of  his  intellectual  faculties,  he  had  retired  on  a 
small  pension  allowed  him  for  former  services,  a  melancholy  instance  of 
abused  talents,  and  the  force  of  remorse  and  conscious  sensibility  operating 
on  a  mind  capable  of  better  things.  This  extraordinary  character  finished 
his  course  on  the  28th  of  December,  1804, 

The  land  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Sydney,  to  the  extent  of  eight  or  ten 
miles  to  the  westward,  is,  with  some  exceptions,  a  light  mould  mixed  with 
sand  :  about  Paramatta  it  becomes  somewhat  deeper,  and  mixed  with 
clay,  but  seldom  produces  more  than  from  twelve  to  fourteen  bushels  per 
acre.  In  the  town  of  Paramatta  the  governor  had  a  large  commodious 
house,  and  several  officers  of  the  civil  establishment  reside  here  ;  in  this 


JOHN  TURNBULL.  381 

place  also  are  good  military  barracks,  erected  for  a  detachment  of  sixty- 
men.  There  are  few  free  people  residing  here  ;  the  greater  part  of  the 
inhabitants  are  convicts,  who  keep  in  cultivation  some  adjacent  lands  be* 
longing  to  the  crown. 

About  twenty  miles  west  of  Paramatta  is  the  Hawkesbury  settlement ; 
and  on  the  road,  about  four  miles  from  Paramatta,  lies  Toungabie,  a  set- 
tlement where  the  government  keep  their  principal  flocks  of  sheep  and 
cattle,  and  a  number  of  convicts  for  the  cultivation  of  about  four  hundred 
acres  of  land  belonging  to  the  crown,  producing  at  an  average  twenty 
bi.S'hels  per  acre. 

From  this  place  are  roads  leading  to  Pennant  hill,  Berkham  hill,  and 
Castle  hilJ,  districts  containing  tracts  of  tolerably  good  land.  The 
Hawkesbury  settlement  is  fully  six  miles  long  ;  the  governor  has  a  cottage 
here,  and  there  is  a  good  barrack  for  a  small  detachment  of  troops  ;  the 
farms  are  situated  on  each  side  of  the  river,  which  is  capable  of  admitting 
vessels  of  200  tons  up  to  the  governor's  cottage,  a  distance  from  the  sea 
of  about  forty  miles  ;  but,  by  the  windings  and  turnings  of  the  river,  is  up- 
ward of  120.  The  banks  of  this  river  are  composed  of  a  rich  black 
mould,  from  eight  to  ten  or  twelve  feet  deep  ;  this,  however,  only  extends 
within  a  few  chains  of  the  ^ed  of  the  river,  and  appears  to  have  been 
formed  from  its  frequent  im  Nidations.  Beyond  this  the  country  around 
appears  to  be  a  stiff  land,  composed  of  sand,  earth,  and  clay,  and  improves 
much  by  cultivation.  Higher  up  the  river  is  the  settlement  of  Richmond 
hill,  where  the  land  appears  the  same,  but  subject  to  the  same  incon- 
venience of  inundation.  On  the  head  of  a  creek  arishig  out  of  Botany 
Bay,  and  terminating  in  a  small  river  named  George's  River,  and  about 
eight  miles  from  Paramatta,  are  several  farms  yielding  from  fourteen  to 
eighteen  bushels  per  acre. 

The  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  this  distant  region  are  indeed  beyond 
comparison  the  most  barbarous  on  the  surface  of  the  globe.  The  resi- 
dence of  Europeans  has  here  been  wholly  ineffectual ;  the  natives  are  still 
in  the  state  as  at  our  first  settlement.  Their  mimicking  the  oddities, 
dress,  walk,  gait,  and  looks,  of  all  the  Europeans  whom  they  have  seen, 
from  the  time  of  Governor  Phillips  downward,  is  so  exact,  as  to  be  a  kind 
of  historic  register  of  their  several  actions  and  characters.  Governor 
PhilHps  and  Colonel  Gross  they  imitate  to  the  life.  And  to  this  day,  if 
there  be  anything  pecuhar  in  any  of  our  countrymen,  officers  in  the  corps, 
or  even  in  the  convicts  ;  any  cast  of  the  eye,  or  hcbble  in  the  gait ;  any  trip 
or  strut,  stammering  or  thick  speaking,  they  catch  it  in  a  moment,  and  re- 
present it  in  a  manner  which  renders  it  impossible  not  to  recognise  the 
original.  They  are  moreover  great  proficients  in  the  language  and  New- 
gate slang  of  the  convicts  ;  and,  in  case  of  any  quarrel,  are  by  no  mt^ans 
unequal  to  them  in  the  exchange  of  abuse. 

Their  principal  subsistence  is  drawn  from  the  sea  and  rivers,  the  grand 
store-house  of  nature  in  all  the  lands  and  islands  of  the  Pacific.  When 
a  dead  whale  is  cast  on  shore,  they  live  sumptuously,  flocking  to  it  in 
great  numbers,  and  seldom  leaving  it  till  the  bones  are  well  picked. 
Their  substitute  for  bread  is  a  species  of  root,  something  resembling  the 
fern  ;  it  is  roasted,  and  pounded  between  two  stones,  and  being  thus 
mixed  with  fish,  &c.,  constitutes  the  chief  part  of  their  food.  They  have 
oysters  of  an  extraordinary  size,  three  being  sufficient  for  any  ordinary 
man.  The  rocks  are  covered  with  others  of  a  smaller  size,  and  which 
may  be  had  for  the  trouble  of  carriage  and  the  labour  of  knocking  them 
off.     They  are  by  no  moDnr  deficient  in  personal  courage  ;  in  their  pitched 


382  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

Dattles,  of  one  part  of  the  country  against  the  other,  or  one  individual 
against  another,  they  display  the  most  determined  bravery.  They  defend 
themselves  against  the  spears  of  their  assailants  by  opposing  only  a  shield 
of  thick  bark  ;  previous  to  their  onset  they  join  in  a  kind  of  song,  and 
gradually  increase  their  noise  till  they  work  themselves  up  into  a  frantic 
fury,  their  countenances  being  in  the  meantime  convulsed,  and  every 
feature  of  their  face  expressive  of  the  fire  of  their  mind. 

One  of  their  chiefs,  Bennelong,  a  warrior  of  great  repute,  it  is  said, 
vras  caught  by  a  very  singular  expedient :  having  taken  a  liking  to  a 
sailor's  jacket,  it  was  offered  to  him  without  hesitation,  and  a  sailor  or- 
dered to  assist  him  in  putting  it  on ;  the  fellow  obeyed,  and  by  putting 
the  back  of  the  jacket  in  front,  contrived  to  hamper  the  arms,  and  thus 
effectually  secured  the  sturdy  savage. 

While  he  was  in  England,  he  was  presented  to  many  of  the  principal 
nobility  and  first  families  of  the  kingdom,  and  received  numerous  presents 
of  clothes  and  other  articles,  which  a  savage  of  any  other  country  would 
have  deemed  inestimable.  It  was  not  so,  however,  with  Bennelong  ;  he 
was  no  sooner  relanded  in  his  own  country  than  he  forgot,  or  at  least 
laid  aside,  all  the  ornaments  and  improvements  he  had  reaped  from  his 
travels,  and  returned,  as  if  with  increased  relish,  to  all  his  former  loath- 
some and  savage  habits.  His  clothes  were  thrown  away,  as  burthensome 
restraints  on  the  freedom  of  his  limbs,  and  he  became  again  as  complete 
a  New  Hollander  as  if  he  had  never  left  his  native  wilds. 

Having  before  sent  a  small  adventure  to  Norfolk  Island,  Mr.  TurnbuU 
resolved  to  give  it  a  trial  in  person,  and  left  Sydney  for  that  purpose  on 
the  25th  of  August,  1801. 

In  point  of  climate  the  situation  of  this  island  is  delightful  and  salu- 
brious ;  the  latitude  is  29  degrees,  and  therefore  the  general  state  of  the 
weather  is  seldom  in  extremes,  neither  intolerably  hot  nor  excessively 
cold.  Without  the  aid  of  any  manure  the  soil  yields  two  harvests  in  the 
same  year :  the  first  is  of  wheat,  which,  being  sown  in  April  or  the  be- 
ginning of  May,  is  usually  reaped  in  October  ;  the  ground  is  then  turned 
up  afresh,  and  planted  with  maize,  which  is  ready  for  pulling  against  the 
next  seed-time.  He  was  moreover  informed,  that  many  of  the  farmers 
have  practiced  this  course  of  cropping  for  a  long  series  of  years,  and 
without  having  experienced  any  diminution  in  the  productive  powers  of 
the  soil. 

The  ordinary  price  of  pork  here  is  sixpence  per  pound,  dead,  or  four- 
pence,  alive  ;  but  if  the  payment  is  made  in  spirits,  it  may  be  obtained  for 
half  that  sum  ;  for  government  very  wisely  having  prohibited  any  distilla- 
tion, the  settlers  will  purchase  spirits  at  almost  any  price.  Wheat  is 
eight  shillings  per  bushel  ;  maize,  four ;  Indian  meal,  five  shillings  ;  po- 
tatoes, about  six  shillings  and  sixpence  ;  onions,  from  eight  to  ten  shil- 
lings per  hundred  weight ;  a  fowl,  eighteen  pence,  and  a  goose  from  five 
to  six  shillings.  The  quantity  of  land  hitherto  granted  by  the  crown  to 
a  settler  is  nearly  as  follows  :  twenty-five  acres  to  a  convict  who.se  time 
is  expired,  and  allowed  to  settle  ;  thirty  to  a  private  soldier  ;  and  fifty  to 
a  non-commissioned  officer.  These  grants,  however,  are  not  made  in- 
discriminately ;  they  are  given  only  to  such  as  have  recommended  them- 
selves by  the  sobriety  and  decorum  of  their  general  deportment,  and  are 
seldom  obtained  without  the  interest  and  recommendation  of  the  superin- 
tending officers. 

Adjacent  to  Norfolk  Island  are  two  smaller  islands,  known  by  the 
names  of  Phillip  and  Nepean  Islands,  the  former  about  half  the  size  o 


JOHN  TURNBULL.  383 

Norfolk  Island,  and  situated  about  six  or  seven  miles  to  the  south  of  it ; 
wholly  uncultivated,  but  abundant  in  herbage.  That  it  might  be  rendered 
as  useful  as  possible  to  the  government,  several  hogs  were  turned  loose, 
in  the  expectation  that,  in  the  process  of  time,  they  would  multiply  so  as 
to  form  a  convenient  stock.  It  does  not,  however,  appear  that  the  event 
of  this  first  experiment  justified  the  expectation. 

Left  Norfolk  Island  on  the  9th  of  August,  1802,  with  a  fair  wind, 
which  continued  for  about  a  week,  during  which  time  they  had  proceeded 
as  far  to  the  eastward  as  the  longitude  of  179  degrees  west.  On  the 
23d  of  September  made  the  small  Island  of  Maitia,  situated  about  a 
degree  to  the  eastward  of  Otaheite,  the  sovereignty  of  which  it  acknow- 
ledges. 

Continuing  their  course  during  the  night,  with  a  moderate  breeze,  found 
themselves  by  daylight  under  the  Island  of  Otaheite.  The  natives  having 
already  discovered  the  vessel,  were  assembled  in  great  numbers  on  the 
reefs  which  extend  along  the  shore,  viewing  the  ship,  as  it  passed  along, 
with  the  most  attentive  curiosity,  the  island  exhibiting  an  appearance 
equally  beautiful  and  picturesque.  At  half-past  ten,  on  the  morning  of 
the  24th  of  September,  1803,  anchored  in  Matavai  Bay,  situated  in  the 
latitude  of  17  degrees  29  minutes  south,  and  longitude  149  degrees  36 
minutes  west. 

As  soon  as  the  vessel  wais  anchored  they  were  visited  by  the  master  ot 
the  Porpoise,  lying  there,  who  gave  an  account  of  a  very  destructive  war 
which,  for  a  considerable  time,  had  prevailed  in  the  island,  said  to  be  ex- 
cited by  the  oppressive  and  tyrannical  government  of  the  family  of  Pomar- 
rey.  During  this  conversation,  some  of  the  missionaries  settled  in  Ota- 
heite came  olf  to  congratulate  them  on  their  arrival,  with  Captain  House, 
formerly  commander  of  the  Norfolk,  which  had  been  wrecked  there,  and 
u  Mr.  Lewin,  a  landscape  painter,  sent  hither  from  Botany  Bay,  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  views  and  making  drawings  of  objects  in  this  island. 
These  gentlemen  confirmed  the  account  of  the  war  in  the  country,  and 
the  general  dearth  in  consequence  of  its  ravages. 

The  King  Otoo,  with  his  concert  Tetua,  came  alongside  in  separate 
canoes,  both  dressed  in  their  tcboota,  a  dress  appropriated  for  the  use  of 
the  royal  family  and  females  of  the  first  distinction.  This  part  of  dress 
is  merely  an  oblong  piece  of  cloth,  having  an  opening  in  the  middle,  to  be 
passed  over  the  head,  and  hanging  down  before  and  behind,  but  open  at 
the  sides,  allowing  the  wearer  to  move  with  great  freedom.  The  queen 
had  besides  a  piece  of  country  cloth  wrapped  round  her  waist,  and  her 
hair  dressed  with  a  sort  of  bonnet  made  of  the  leaves  of  the  cocoa  tre-3. 
She  appeared  to  be  about  twenty-four  years  of  age,  with  good  feature^}, 
and  in  size  above  the  ordinary  standard  of  British  ladies  :  she  was  em- 
ployed in  the  humble  office  of  bailing  the  water  out  of  her  canoe.  She 
and  Otoo  were  cousins,  and  her  sister  was  married  to  Terenaveroa,  King 
of  Tiarrabou,  Otoe's  brother ;  following  the  patriarchal  system  in  this 
respect,  of  marrying  their  nearest  relations.  This  lady,  at  their  first  in- 
terview, was  somewhat  reserved  ;  but,  upon  better  acquaintance,  became 
more  familiar.  The  king  appeared  in  his  tcboota  and  marra,  this  last 
being  a  narrow  piece  of  cloth  passing  between  the  legs  and  round  the 
middle,  with  the  ends  foUded  inward  ;  these  two  articles  constitute  a  com- 
plete Otaheitean  dress. 

The  king  being  very  desirous  to  obtain  some  of  their  ava,  that  is,  spi- 
rituous hquors,  they  gratified  him  with  a  small  quantity  in  the  shell  of  a 
cocoa  nut,  which  was  handed  down  to  him  in  his, canoe.     On  receiving 


384  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD 

the  present  he  said  aloud,  my  ty  te  lata,  my  ty  te  pahia — very  good  men, 
very  good  ship  ;  and  with  this  compliment  in  his  mouth,  took  his  leave 
to  pay  a  similar  visit,  and  with  a  similar  purpose,  to  the  Porpoise.  They 
afterward  learned  that  his  majesty  was  somewhat  too  much  addicted  to 
the  use  of  such  liquors,  and  that  he  would  go  any  length  to  procure  them. 
His  father,  Pomarrey,  had  not  yet  returned  from  the  expedition  against 
his  enemies  in  another  part  of  the  island.  It  may  be  necessary  here  to 
observe,  that,  by  the  laws  of  Otaheite,  the  son,  immediately  on  his  birth, 
succeeds  to  the  dignity  of  his  father,  the  father  from  that  instant  be- 
coming only  administrator  for  his  child,  Otoo,  therefore,  was  king  ;  and 
Pomarrey,  his  father,  regent. 

About  this  time  the  king's  mother,  Edeah,  appeared  alongside  in  a 
canoe,  attended  by  her  favourite,  a  chief  of  the  Island  Huaheine,  a  man 
of  most  savage  figure  and  manners.  This  lady  had  for  come  years 
been  separated  from  her  husband,  Pomarrey  ;  but  had  not  on  this  account 
suiTered  any  diminution  of  power  or  respect  in  the  country.  These  two 
personages  came  on  board  the  ship  with  their  characteristic  frankness, 
and  were  treated  with  all  possible  attention,  having  learned  from  the 
gentlemen  of  the  mission  that  Edeah  still  enjoyed  such  influence  in  the 
state,  that  her  favour  might  be  essentially  useful,  as  they  had  everything 
to  fear  from  her  resentment.  No  pains,  therefore,  were  spared  to  gain 
her  good  will ;  she  and  her  favourite  chief  were  conducted  to  the  cabin, 
and  there  entertained  with  grog,  tobacco,  &c.,  &c.  Several  presents 
were  offered  her,  on  which  she  seemed  to  set  very  little  value  ;  but  ex- 
pressed great  eagerness  to  possess  a  poo  pucy,  or  musket.  This  queen 
dowager  and  her  paramour  continued  to  drink  and  interchange  tobacco 
till  they  were  nearly  incapable  of  leaving  the  ship,  each  appearing  to  be 
equally  delighted  with  tlieir  entertainment.  The  attendant  was  so  well 
pleased,  that,  on  taking  leave,  he  urged  Mr.  TurnbuU  to  accept  him  as  a 
tayo,  or  inUmate  friend,  a  civility  he  declined  in  the  way  least  hkely  to 
give  umbrage. 

Pomarrey  having  by  this  time  heard  of  their  arrival,  hastened  to  wel- 
come them  to  his  country,  doubtless  in  the  hope  of  receiving  his  share  of 
the  presents.  His  approach,  with  two  canoes,  was  conducted  with  many 
formalities.  When  he  came  alongside  he  ordered  his  arrival  to  be  an- 
nounced in  due  form,  and  refused  to  come  on  board  until  they  were  all 
in  readiness  to  receive  him  with  due  respect.  On  entering  the  ship  he 
presented  to  Mr.  TurnbuU  a  plantain  leaf,  the  Otaheitean  token  of  peace 
and  friendship,  and  behaved  on  the  whole  with  much  affability,  mingled 
with  a  certain  feeling  of  his  former  dignified  rank. 

Mr.  TurnbuU  was  particularly  distinguished  by  Pomarrey,  who  em- 
braced him  in  the  country  fashion,  that  is,  by  touching  noses  ;  after 
which,  Pomarrey  squeezed  him  gently  all  over  the  body,  and  swaddled 
him  up  in  a  quantity  of  cloth,  so  that  he  could  with  difficulty  move 
his  limbs,  being  literally  musket-proof.  Pomarrey  informed  him  that 
this  was  the  practice  in  his  country  in  making  a  tayo  or  friend,  at  the 
same  time  giving  his  own  name  to  his  newly-adopted  tayo,  whose  name 
he  took  to  himself  in  exchange.  Pomarrey  was  not  less  than  six  feet 
four  inches  in  height,  remarkably  stout  and  well-proportioned.  His 
son  Otoo  is  upward  of  six  feet  two  inches  high,  and  equally  well-built 
Ih  the  train  of  followers  was  a  dwarf,  only  thirty-nine  inches  high,  full- 
grown,  and  duly  proportioned  in  every  respect,  his  age  between  twenty- 
three  and  twenty-four. 

On  the  day  following  they  received  another  visit  from  the  greater  pari 


JOHN  TlTRNBULL  385 

of  the  royal  family,  so  that  it  became  necessary  to  distribute  presents,  in 
order  to  secure  the  good  understanding  already  begun.  Nothing  was  so 
acceptable  to  them  as  fire-arms,  for  they  considered  everything  else  as 
useless  trifles.  They  accordingly  gave  to  Pomarrey  a  blunderbuss,  with 
which  he  seemed  to  be  much  delighted  ;  and  to  his  son,  the  reigning  King 
Otoo,  who  lay  a  little  off  from  the  ship  in  his  canoe,  they  offered  a 
musket.  This  distribution  was  not,  however,  relished  by  Otoo  :  being 
now  a  greater  man  than  his  father,  he  insisted  on  his  right  to  the  blun- 
derbuss, and  Pomarrey  was  compelled  to  content  himself  with  a  musket. 
A  fresh  difficulty  arose  in  making  an  acceptable  present  to  the  queen 
dowager,  Edeah.  Whatever  was  offered  to  her,  cloth,  looking-glasses, 
scissors,  even  axes,  she  rejected  with  disdain,  making  them  understand 
that  she  was  as  capable  as  any  man  in  the  country  of  making  use  of  fire- 
arms. They  had  indeed  been  informed  that  she  was  not  less  expert  as  a 
warrior  than  as  a  politician  ;  and  that  her  resentment  was  much  more  to 
be  dreaded  than  that  of  her  late  husband,  Pomarrey.  They  therefore 
explained  that  the  articles  presented  to  her  were  such  as  would  have 
been  eagerly  preferred  by  their  countrywomen ;  and  concluded  by  giving 
her  a  musket. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  a  ruinous  war  had  lately  prevailed 
in  Otaheite.  This,  as  far  as  could  be  learned  by  the  Europeans  resident 
on  the  island,  had  been  occasioned  by  an  unusual  oppression  of  the  several 
members  of  the  royal  family,  and  particularly  by  the  son  of  Pomarrey,  the 
young  King  Otoo,  who,  it  was  reported,  set  no  bounds  to  his  haughty, 
domineering  disposition.  His  administration  has  at  all  times  given  extreme 
offence  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  of  Atahourou,  who  considered 
him  only  as  an  usurper,  and  were  constantly  disposed  to  resist  his  measures 
and  to  throw  off  his  yoke. 

In  this  war  the  missionaries  had  converted  their  dwelling-house  at  that 
place  into  a  sort  of  fortress,  having  procured  the  guns  of  the  Norfolk,  which, 
as  already  mentioned,  had  been  wrecked  on  the  shore.  With  these  guns 
being  planted  on  the  upper  story  of  the  house,  and  having  laid  in  a  large 
supply  of  bread  fruit,  cocoa  nuts,  and  other  necessaries,  they  were  able 
to  withstand  a  more  vigorous  siege  than  that  of  the  Atahourians.  Happily 
for  Pomarrey,  the  crew  of  the  Norfolk,  and  other  European  residents  in 
the  island,  in  number  about  thirty,  and  all  accustomed  to  the  use  of  fire- 
arms, espoused  his  cause  in  this  extremity.  On  this,  indeed,  as  on  former 
occasions,  himself  and  family  were  solely  indebted  to  his  European  allies. 

They  now  resolved  to  leave  this  island,  and  touch  at  that  of  Huaheine, 
to  learn  what  supplies  might  be  there  procured.  Leaving  Otaheite  on 
the  following  day,  they  arrived  at  Huaheine,  after  a  run  of  nearly  thirty 
leagues  to  the  north-west.  This  harbour,  Owharrow,  is  large,  spacious, 
and  perfectly  safe  from  all  winds,  being  defended  by  a  reef  of  rocks,  the 
natural  barrier  to  most  of  the  harbours  in  these  seas.  The  low  land  next 
the  water  has  a  most  beautiful  appearance,  abounding  with  bread  fruit, 
cocoa  nut,  and  other  trees.  The  Island  of  Huaheine,  in  proportion  to 
its  magnitude,  appeared  far  more  abundant  than  Otaheite ;  though  in 
Huaheine,  as  in  Otaheite,  the  whole  hope  and  dependence  of  the  islanders 
seemed  to  be  in  the  fertility  of  that  narrow  slip  or  border  of  land  which 
surrounds  the  whole  island  next  to  the  water ;  this  border  is  common  to 
most  of  the  islands  of  the  South  Seas. 

Having  made  the  necessary  inquiries  as  to  the  chief  object  of  the  voyage, 
and  finding  that  it  would  be  but  of  little  advantage  to  continue  longer  in 
Huaheine,  they  took  leave  of  the  friendly  chiefs,  and  directed  their  course 

33 


386  VOYA&ES  R0t7ND  THE  WORLD. 

for  Ulietea,  a  much  larger  island,  about  eight  leagues  to  the  westward.  The 
stature  of  the  king  here  was  not  inferior  to  that  of  his  brother  sovereign, 
and  he  appeared  equally  flattered  with  the  cause  assigned  for  curiosity, 
that  of  gratifying  their  countrymen  upon  their  return.  But,  though 
equalling  Pomarrey  in  stature,  he  was  less  corpulent,  and,  in  the  general 
contour  of  his  person,  did  not  appear  to  possess  the  same  portly  dignity. 
His  name  was  Tomaqua,  and  that  of  his  queen  Teenmonie.  At  Ulietea 
they  were  surprised  by  the  appearance  of  one  of  their  countrymen,  a  man 
of  the  name  of  Pulpit  ;  he  came  off  with  the  king,  and  was  accompanied 
by  his  wife,  as  he  called  her,  an  Otaheitean  girl,  of  fourteen  or  fifteen 
years  of  age,  dressed  in  a  piece  of  black  cloth  of  British  manufacture, 
wrapped  round  her  body  by  way  of  a,  marra.  After  some  hesitation,  this 
young  woman  was  allowed  to  come  on  board  with  her  husband.  The 
poor  fellow  was  no  sooner  upon  the  deck  than,  with  a  wildness  of  look 
and  gestures  which  evinced  his  sincerity,  he  uttered  an  impassioned  excla- 
mation of  gratitude  to  heaven,  "  that  he  had  escaped  out  of  the  hands  of 
these  savage  murderers."  In  answer  to  their  demand  of  an  explanation, 
he  said,  that,  but  a  very  short  time  before,  himself  and  wife  had  been 
compelled  to  preserve  their  lives  by  flight,  escaping  with  diflSculty  from 
Huaheine  to  Ulietea ;  that  he  had  been  landed  in  the  former  island  by 
Mr.  Bass,  of  the  Venus,  (the  intrepid  discoverer  of  the  straits  so  named,) 
who,  being  a  part  owner  and  supercargo  of  this  vessel,  had,  like  themselves 
come  to  an  over-stocked  market  at  Port  Jackson  ;  and,  in  order  to  make 
the  most  of  a  bad  business,  had  entered  into  a  contract  with  the  govern- 
ment for  supplying  the  settlement  with  a  certain  quantity  of  pork  at  a 
stated  price  ;  and,  in  return  for  his  voluntary  service  on  board  that  ship, 
had  received  from  the  above-named  gentleman  such  articles  as  he  con- 
ceived might  be  useful  to  him  on  the  island.  Among  these  articles  were 
a  musket  and  a  double  barrelled  gun,  which  so  powerfully  worked  on  the 
minds  of  the  natives,  that,  finding  all  other  means  and  artifices  to  get 
possession  of  them  ineffectual,  they  at  last  resolved  to  murder  him,  and 
in  that  manner  procure  the  whole  of  his  little  property.  This,  their  hor- 
rible purpose,  had  been  discovered  to  him  by  the  Otaheitean  girl,  who 
understood  the  language,  and  overheard  their  consultations  upon  the 
subject.  Rendered  desperate  by  this  information,  he  resolved  to  lose  his 
life  rather  than  suffer  himself  to  be  plundered  of  everything  by  which 
life,  in  such  a  situation,  could  be  rendered  supportable.  He  was,  there- 
fore, continually  on  the  watch  against  his  foes,  and  was  faithfully  assisted 
by  the  young  Otaheitean,  who  was  well  aware  of  the  fate  awaiting  her 
in  the  event  of  her  lover's  murder.  This  course  of  life  continued  for 
some  days,  until  being  at  last  overpowered  by  incessant  anxiety,  watching, 
and  fatigue,  Pulpit  was  surprised  by  a  party  of  natives,  his  property 
pillaged,  his  person  seized,  and  led  away  as  a  sacrifice  to  some  of  their 
divinities. 

He  was  conducted  about  half  a  league  from  the  spot,  expecting  every 
moment  to  be  his  last.  The  natives,  however,  began  to  dispute  among 
themselves  respecting  the  treatment  he  was  to  receive  ;  when  an  elderly 
woman,  who  seemed  to  possess  much  authority  among  them,  and  who 
had  constantly  opposed  all  sanguinary  measures,  threatened  to  leave  the 
island  if  they  persisted  in  their  designs.  Her  remonstrances  appeared  to 
have  great  influence  with  the  natives  ;  they  therefore  desisted  from  their 
project,  and  conducted  him  back  to  his  former  place  of  residence,  which 
was  now  entirely  stripped.  Being  an  ingenious  man,  they  made  him  pro- 
mise to  repair  some  muskets  belonging  to  themselves  ;  and  having  sup- 


JOHN  TURNBULL.  387 

plied  him  and  the  Otaheitean  girl  with  some  provisions,  as  a  peace-offering, 
they  withdrew.  Pulpit  now  bent  all  his  thoughts  on  making  his  escape  ; 
and,  an  opportunity  soon  occurring,  he  availed  himself  of  a  dark  night  to 
seize  one  of  their  canoes,  and,  accompanied  by  his  heroic  wife,  made  the 
bes-t  of  his  way  to  Ulietea.  Here  again,  not  finding  himself  comfortably 
situated  with  the  islanders,  he  had  taken  the  present  opportunity  to  seek 
a  refuge  in  their  ship.  From  the  account  given  by  Pulpit  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Ulietea,  they  seemed  to  be  much  of  the  same  character  and  natural 
habits  with  those  in  Huaheine  ^  it  was,  therefore,  impossible  to  prevail  on 
him  to  return  to  the  shore.  '*  Take  me  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,"  said 
he,  with  the  utmost  earnestness,  "  or  to  any  other  place  ;  only  leave  me 
not  here  to  be  murdered."  He  was,  therefore,  suffered  to  remain  on 
board,  as  well  as  the  young  female  from  Otaheite  ;  nor  was  it  long  before 
they  had  good  reason  to  be  satisfied  that  his  unfavourable  character  of 
these  islanders  had  neither  originated  in  malice  nor  a  disordered  imagina- 
tion, both  of  which  they  had  previously  suspected  might  have  influenced 
hirn  in  his  narrative.  In  the  night  before  the  Margaret's  intended  departure 
from  Ulietea,  it  was  discovered  that  the  followmg  persons  had  deserted 
from  the  ship,  viz.,  David  Clark,  an  apprentice,  Thomas  Smith,  a  cooper 
by  trade,  Timothy  Gauntey  and  William  Andrews,  seamen  ;  the  last 
three  were  Botany  Bay  convicts,  and  had  tempted  to  their  party  two  Ota- 
heiteans,  who  had  come  with  them  from  that  island.  This  project  had 
doubtless  originated  with  some  of  the  chiefs  of  the  island,  who  had  acted 
as  tayos  to  one  or  other  of  the  deserters.  As  soon  as  the  discovery  wag 
made,  which  was  about  two  in  the  morning,  Mr.  Turnbull  went  singly  on 
shore,  to  request  the  king  to  use  his  utmost  authority  to  have  the  people 
restored. 

When  he  was  informed  what  had  happened,  with  a  dissimulation  worthy 
of  a  courtier,  the  king  expressed  the  utmost  surprise,  accompanying  it 
with  a  declaration,  that  the  men  had  certainly  not  landed  near  them,  nor 
been  seen  by  them  on  shore.  They  had  good  reason,  however,  afterward 
to  believe  that  the  deserters  were  at  that  very  time  in  the  immediate 
neighbourhood. 

A  whole  day  had  been  lost  in  this  fruitless  negotiation  ;  about  half  an 
hour  past  ten  o'clock  at  night,  Turnbull  was  roused  from  sleep  by  the 
voice  of  the  captain,  who  then  held  the  watch,  exclaiming,  "Turnbull, 
our  ship  is  on  shore — the  ship  is  on  shore."  Jumping  instantly  out  of  bed, 
and  running  upon  deck  in  his  shirt,  he  found  there  was  no  wind  to  affect 
the  ship ;  and  it  being  too  dark  to  see  the  shore,  sounded  and  found  up- 
ward of  twelve  fathoms  of  depth,  and  no  sensible  motion  of  the  ship  or 
water.  Examining  the  cables,  he  found  them  both  lying  slack  on  the  deck, 
which  confirmed  still  more  the  idea  that  the  captain  was  mistaken  ;  but 
the  seamen  being  commanded  to  haul  the  cables,  the  first  pull  brought 
the  ends  of  both  of  them  on  board.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  general 
sensation  produced  by  this  discovery,  that  their  cables  were  cut,  and  they 
were  drifting  on  shore.  Another  anchor,  having  an  iron  stock,  was  im- 
mediately ordered  to  be  cleared  away  ;  but  such  was  the  alarm  and  confu- 
sion, that  it  was  not  till  after  repeated  trials  they  effected  the  stocking  of  it. 
It  happened  very  providentially  that  there  was  not  a  breath  of  wind  stirring, 
oiherwise  the  ship  must  have  speedily  gone  to  pieces,  for  she  now  lay  with 
her  broadside  against  a  reef  of  coral  rocks,  the  edges  of  which  were  as 
•harp  as  flints,  having  twelve  fathoms  of  water  on  the  outside. 

It  was  fortunate,  m  this  distress,  that,  for  some  slight  offence  given 
by  individuals  .^f  the  crew,  the  natives  had  threatened  to  murder  them 


388  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

whenever  an  opportunity  should  offer  itself.  The  apprehensions  of  these 
men  were  now  extreme  ;  and  by  communicating  their  fears  to  the  otlier 
seamen,  and  persuading  them  that  one  common  lot  awaited  them  without 
distinction,  they  united  all  hands  in  one  effort  of  endeavouring  to  rescue 
the  vessel  from  her  present  very  perilous  situation.  Having  bent  the 
remaining  part  of  one  of  the  cables,  about  thirty  fathoms,  to  the  anchor, 
it  was  carried  out  in  the  long-boat  to  eighteen  fathoms  water,  and  the 
ship  hauled  seven  or  eight  fathoms  off  from  the  reef.  While  this  was 
doing,  they  suddenly  heard  a  loud  and  clamorous  noise  among  the  natives 
on  shore,  and  seemingly  close  under  the  ship's  stern  ;  the  wretches  wurc 
rendered  outrageous  by  the  disappointment  of  their  hopes,  the  ship  being 
now  visibly  moved  from  the  rocks.  They  had  hitherto  maintained  a  pro- 
found silence,  in  the  expectation  that  her  bulging  would  give  the  signal 
for  the  commencement  of  their  plunder.  They  now  began  an  assault 
with  stones  in  such  quantities  and  with  such  force  that,  in  the  hopes  of 
intimidating  them,  the  English  were  compelled  to  discharge  some  swivels 
and  muskets  over  their  heads.  This,  however,  produced  a  volley  of 
musketry  from  the  natives  stationed  on  different  points  of  the  shore. 

As  daylight  was  now  approaching,  they  hoped  to  be  enabled  to  dis- 
lodge the  enemy  from  their  shelter,  and  menaced,  in  their  turn,  an 
effectual  revenge  ;  of  this,  however,  they  appeared  to  entertain  no  appre- 
hension. The  ship  riding  with  her  stern  toward  the  shore,  it  became 
necessary  to  take  every  precaution  for  the  defence  of  this  vulnerable 
point  ;  and  the  swivels  on  the  stern  having  been  dismounted  on  the  first 
fire,  they  brought  up  two  great  guns  ;  but,  upon  the  approach  of  daylight, 
had  the  mortification  to  discover  that  the  natives  seemed  to  be  but  little 
afraid  of  what  they  could  do  against  them.  They  were  sufficiently  ac- 
quainted with  the  use  of  guns  to  watch  the  motions  on  board,  and  when 
ready  to  fire,  they  suddenly  skulked  behind  the  rocks  or  trees  along  the 
shore,  so  that  their  fire  only  wasted  the  stock  of  ammunition,  and,  instead 
of  removing  their  enemies,  seemed  rather  to  encourage  their  attacks. 
So  intent  were  they  on  the  destruction  of  the  vessel,  that  such  of  the 
natives  as  had  no  fire-arms  betook  themselves  to  the  mountains  which  over- 
hung the  ship,  and  thence  annoyed  her  by  discharging  volleys  of  stones, 
many  of  them  of  incredible  size.  Their  firing  and  assaults  slackening 
a  Uttle  about  ten  in  the  forenoon,  the  captain  judged  it  to  be  a  favoura- 
ble moment  for  weighing  the  anchor,  and  carrying  the  ship  farther  out  to 
sea,  and  accordingly  manned  the  boat  with  volunteers  for  this  service. 
The  natives,  however,  as  soon  as  they  discovered  this,  recommenced 
their  fire,  directing  it  chiefly  at  the  boat,  and  this  with  such  manifest 
danger  to  the  men,  that  they  were  compelled  to  give  over  the  attempt, 
and  return  to  the  ship  for  protection.  At  this  time  they  could  discover 
two  of  their  former  shipmates  as  active  as  the  most  furious  of  the  savages. 

The  boat  was  again  manned  afresh,  and  the  attempt  made,  when  a 
well-directed  fire  suddenly  commenced  on  it  a  second  time  ;  the  people 
were  again  compelled  to  relinquish  their  plan,  and  once  more  betake 
themselves  to  the  ship.  Never  was  a  situation  more  alarming  than  was 
theirs  the  whole  of  this  day.  It  was  now  four  in  the  afternoon,  and 
they  were  all  fully  employed  in  making  every  preparation  to  repel  the 
grand  attack  expected  in  the  night.  Each  man  was  furnished  with 
twelve  rounds  of  ball-cartridges  and  twenty-four  pistol-bullets.  The 
muskets,  being  thirty  in  number,  were  well  cleaned  and  fresh  fiinted  ; 
the  great  guns  and  swivels  were  double-shotted  and  filled  with  old  iron  ; 
and  blunderbusses  and  cutlasses  distributed  on  the  deck,  to  be  ready  for 


JOHN  TURNBULL.  389 

service  at  a  moment's  notice.  And,  as  much  as  possible,  to  prevent 
the  stones  thrown  by  the  natives  from  doing  injury,  awnings  were  spread 
over  the  deck,  and  every  other  precaution  taken  to  enable  them  to  sell 
their  lives  at  the  dearest  rate  and  defend  the  ship  to  the  last  extremity. 
About  half-past  six  in  the  evening,  the  wind,  which  had  hitherto  blown 
from  the  sea,  shifted  gent-ly  round  to  a  land-breeze,  furnishing  them  an 
opportunity  of  getting  away  unperceived  in  the  night.  That  their  ope- 
rations might  not  be  discovered,  they  muffled  the  pawls  of  the  windlass, 
and  began  to  heave  away  upon  one  anchor  at  a  time.  In  all  these  trans- 
actions they  received  signal  services  from  poor  Pulpit,  whom  they  had 
taken  on  board  here  ;  for  he  was  an  excellent  marksman,  and  was  well 
aware  of  what  his  fate  would  be,  should  he  again  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  Ulieteans  ;  he  therefore  fought  like  a  lion,  resolved  never  to  yield  but 
with  his  last  breath.  His  young  Otaheitean  wife  likewise  behaved  like 
a  heroine,  carrying  powder  to  the  men,  and  exerting  herself  to  the  ut- 
most in  every  way  in  which  she  could  be  useful. 

Their  next  station  was  the  island  called  Maura  or  Mobidie,  being  the 
most  leeward  and  smallest  of  the  Society  Islands.  It  is  only  about  four- 
teen or  fifteen  miles  in  circuit,  and  appears  to  be  surrounded  by  a  reef 
of  coral  rocks,  which  render  the  approach  to  the  shore  very  difficult. 
Leaving  this,  they  bade  adieu  for  the  present  to  the  Society  Islands, 
and  now  shaped  a  course  for  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  wind  was  so 
scanty  during  the  whole  of  the  passage,  that  it  was  with  difficulty  they 
made  Whoahoo,  an  island  subject  to  Tamahama,  the  great  chief  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  on  the  17th  of  December,  1802.  Here  they  were 
informed  that  the  king,  Tamahama,  attended  by  the  greater  part  of  his 
chiefs,  was  at  present  at  Mowee.  It  is  the  wise  policy  of  this  chief,  that 
all  those  who  possess  any  authority  or  influence  in  the  country,  should 
accompany  him  in  his  progress  through  his  dominions,  that  he  may  have 
them  constantly  under  his  eye,  and  not  leave  them  exposed  to  the  seduc- 
tions and  conspiracies  of  his  rival  chiefs.  From  farther  information 
received  here,  Tamahama  seems  to  be  making  rapid  progress  in  his 
schemes  of  aggrandizement.  After  having  defeated  the  rightful  sove- 
reign of  this  Island  of  Whoahoo,  and  all  the  kings  of  the  other  islands 
to  the  eastward,  he  has  forced  him,  after  many  ineffectual  struggles,  to 
take  refuge  in  the  Island  of  Atooi.  Thus  the  sovereign  authority  over 
aH  these  islands  remains  in  his  family,  and  his  power  and  riches,  from 
his  intercourse  with  shipping,  were  hourly  increasing.  He  was  at  this 
time  making  great  preparations  to  exterminate  the  fugitive  king,  even 
from  his  place  of  retreat. 

Upon  leaving  Whoahoo,  directed  their  course  to  Atooi,  off  which 
island  they  arrived  the  26th  of  December,  1802.  The  exilea  icing  of 
these  islands  bears  a  character  infinitely  superior,  in  a  moral  point  of 
view  at  least,  to  that  of  his  more  powerful  rival,  Tamahama.  He  ap- 
peared to  be  loved  almost  to  adoration,  and  his  authority,  from  affection, 
seemed  to  be  increased  almost  in  the  same  proportion  as  his  actual  pow- 
er had  become  diminished.  On  the  following  morning  they  received  a 
visit  from  this  good  king,  and  were  welcomed  very  heartily  by  him  to 
Atooi.  From  some  Englishmen,  who  had  followed  his  fortunes  for  seve- 
ral years,  this  unfortunate  chief  had  acquired  such  an  acquaintance  with 
their  language,  that  he  was  able  to  understand  and  answer  any  plain  ques- 
tion that  was  put  to  him. 

Having  collected  about  three  tons  of  yams,  they  set  sail  to  the  east- 
ward of  Owyhee.     Soon  after  their  arrival  they  received  a  visit  from 


390  VOi'AGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

their  countryman,  Mr.  Young,  who  had  resided  there  for  fourteen  year* 
past,  from  whom  they  had  a  confirmation  of  the  particulars  respecting 
Tamahama.  His  palace  is  built  after  the  European  style,  of  brick,  and 
glazed  windows,  and  defended  by  a  battery  of  ten  guns.  He  has  Euro- 
pean and  American  artificers  about  him  of  almost  every  description.  In- 
deed his  own  subjects,  from  their  intercourse  with  Europeans,  have 
acquired  a  great  knowledge  of  several  of  the  mechanical  arts,  .and  have 
thus  enabled  him  to  increase  his  navy,  a  very  favourite  object  with  him. 
His  dominion  seems  now  to  be  completely  established.  He  is  not  only 
a  great  warrior  and  politician,  but  a  very  acute  trader,  and  a  match  for  any 
European  in  driving  a  bargain.  He  is  well  acquainted  with  the  different 
weights  and  measures,  and  the  value  which  all  articles  ought  to  bear  in 
exchange  with  each  other ;  and  is  ever  ready  to  take  the  advantage  of 
the  necessities  of  those  who  apply  to  him  or  his  people  for  supplies. 

Tamahama's  ardent  desire  to  obtain  a  ship  from  Captain  Vancouver 
was,  in  all  probability,  first  excited  by  the  suggestions  of  Young  and  his 
countrymen,  Davis  ;  but  such  was  the  effect  of  this  undertaking,  that  Ta- 
mahama became  immediately  more  sparing  of  his  visits  on  board  the 
Discovery  ;  his  time  being  now  chiefly  employed  in  attending  to  the  car- 
penters at  work  on  this  new  man-of-war,  which,  when  finished,  was 
named  the  Britannia.  This  was  the  beginning  of  Tamahama's  navy  ;  and, 
from  his  own  observations,  with  the  assistance  of  Messrs.  Young,  Davis, 
&c.,  he  has  laboured  inflexibly  in  improving  his  marine  force,  which  he 
has  now  brought  to  a  respectable  state  ;  securing  to  him  not  only  a  de- 
cided superiority  over  the  frail  canoes  of  his  neighbours,  but  the  means 
of  transporting  his  warriors  to  distant  parts.  Some  of  his  vessels  are 
employed  as  transports  in  carrying  provisions  from  one  island  to  another, 
to  supply  his  warriors  ;  while  the  largest  are  used  as  men-of-war,  and 
are  occasionally  mounted  with  a  few  light  guns.  No  one  better  under- 
stands his  interest  than  this  ambitious  chief ;  no  one  better  knows  how  to 
improve  an  original  idea.  The  favours  of  Vancouver  and  his  other  Euro- 
pean benefactors  would  have  been  thrown  away  on  any  other  savage  ; 
but  Tamahama  possesses  a  genius  above  his  situation.  His  body-guards, 
who  may  be  considered  in  some  respects  as  regularly  disciplined  troops, 
go  on  duty  not  unfrequently  with  the  drum  and  fife,  and  relieve  each  other 
as  in  Europe,  calling  out,  "  all  is  well "  at  every  half  hour,  as  on  board 
of  ship.  Their  uniform  at  this  time  was  simply  a  blue  great-coat  with 
yellow  facings. 

On  the  evening  of  the  21st  of- January  stood  along  the  shore  to  the 
eastward,  taking  the  advantage  of  a  land-breeze.  On  the  5th  of  March, 
in  standing  to  the  northward,  at  about  half-past  eleven,  P.  M.,  saw  land. 
At  eleven,  A.  M.,  another  low  island,  almost  level  with  the  water,  was 
seen  from  the  maintop  by  one  of  the  seamen.  At  noon,  on  the  7th,  a 
low  island,  seen  in  the  morning,  bore  from  north  by  west  half  west  to 
north  by  east  half  east,  distant  five  or  six  miles.  On  the  lOlh  of  March, 
continuing  their  course  to  the  northward,  an  island  was  seen  bearing  from 
north-east  to  north-east  by  east,  at  from  twelve  to  fourteen  miles  distance 
In  compliment  to  the  late  Sheriff  of  London,  Sir  Richard  Phillips,  they 
named  it  Phillip's  Island  ;  it  is  situated  in  latitude  16  degrees  24  minutes 
south,  and  longitude  143  degrees  37  minutes  west.  To  another  in  its 
neighbourhood,  situated  in  latitude  16  degrees  12  minutes  south,  and  lon- 
gitude 143  degrees  57  minutes  west,  they  gave  the  name  of  Holt's  Island. 
Proceeding  again,  they  arrived  at  the  small  Island  of  Maitia,  (the  Recrea- 
tion of  Roggewein,)  situated  in  the  latitude  of  15  degrees  48  minutes 


JOHN  TITRMBULL.  391 

south,  and  longitude  147  degrees  58  minutes  west.  At  daylight,  on  the 
21st,  the  Island  of  Otaheite  bore  from  south  by  east  to  west  by  north  half 
north,  distant  five  miles.  At  noon  anchored  in  Matavai  Bay.  During  their 
absence,  they  found  the  ship  Nautilus  had  been  at  Otaheite,  and  taken 
away  all  the  hogs  she  could  procure.  The  captain  and  Mr.  Turnbull  now 
concurred  in  opinion  to  sail  with  the  ship  to  some  of  the  islands  lying  to 
windward  ;  and  thence  procuring  a  live  stock  of  hogs,  should  bring  them, 
to  Otaheite  to  be  slaughtered.  The  latter  gentleman  with  two  or  three 
assistants  were  to  remain  at  Otaheite  on  the  salting  business. 

Mr.  Turnbull,  after  some  time,  became  uneasy  with  respect  to  the 
ship,  as  she  had  now  been  away  two  months  instead  of  three  weeks. 
Otoo  frequently  said  the  ship  was  "  Killed  dead  by  the  stones,''''  he  was 
certain  of  it.  At  length  the  fatal  remains  of  the  Margaret  were  disco- 
vered by  the  natives,  about  three  leagues  to  the  northward  of  the  island. 
The  conjectures  of  the  royal  family,  the  missionaries,  and  the  natives, 
seemed  all  to  lead  to  one  point ;  and,  by  their  expressive  looks,  it  was 
not  difficult  to  comprehend  their  object.  The  sight  of  the  sail  confirmed 
these  apprehensions  beyond  any  farther  doubt ;  it  was  as  large  as  three 
of  the  boat's,  and  could  belong  to  nothing  but  a  ship.  From  contrary 
winds  and  lee  currents,  it  seems,  the  ship  had  been  a  fortnight  in  getting 
to  windward ;  and  it  was  only  the  evening  previous  to  the  accident  that 
the  captain  had  commenced  trading  with  the  natives.  The  business  of 
the  captain,  as  he  proposed  to  renew  the  trade  for  pearls  (the  principal 
object  of  his  visit)  on  the  succeeding  morning,  was  to  keep  his  station 
during  the  night ;  but  while  in  the  act  of  plying  to  windward  for  this  pur- 
pose, the  ship  was  unfortunately  lost  on  a  low  reef  of  rocks  and  sand- 
banks, in  the  vicinity  of  a  cluster  of  islands  called  the  Pallisers,  in  lati- 
tude 15  degrees  38  minutes  south,  and  longitude  146  degrees  30  minutes 
west,  which  had  never  before  been  discovered.  The  captain  and  the 
crew  landed  with  much  difficulty,  and  employed  themselves  in  saving 
whatever  stores  were  within  their  reach ;  but  during  the  ensuing  night 
the  boat  was  stolen,  through  the  treachery  of  two  Otaheitean  natives  who 
belonging  to  the  ship,  and  could  never  afterward  be  recovered.  As  a 
last  resource,  therefore,  the  deck  of  the  ship  was  broken  up,  and,  with 
the  boards  and  nails  it  afforded,  a  kind  of  punt  was  made.  Being  flat- 
bottomed,  it  of  consequence  floated  in  less  water ;  arid  even  that  with 
some  difficulty  was  got  over  the  reef.  The  craft  being  finished,  the  crew, 
to  the  number  of  eighteen,  embarked,  having  on  board  only  a  few  muskets, 
a  small  quantity  of  powder,  one  bag  of  bread,  and  ten  gallons  of  water. 
Even  this  was  so  brackish  that  nothing  but  their  present  situation  could 
have  induced  them  to  have  made  use  of  it ;  for  the  sand-bank  being  only 
about  forty  yards  across,  and  not  more  than  four  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  it  was  only  by  digging  a  good  depth  that  any  could  be  obtained. 
After  a  voyage  of  five  days  in  this  most  miserable  of  crafts,  they  at  length 
reached  Otaheite,  nearly  exhausted. 

After  the  unfortunate  circumstance  of  the  loss  of  the  Margaret,  their 
prospects  at  Otaheite  were  very  gloomy.  Having  saved  little  or  no  pro- 
perty from  the  wreck,  it  became  a  subject  of  serious  consideration  in 
what  manner  to  subsist.  Otaheite  is  as  little  calculated  as  Europe  for 
those  who  are  without  money.  The  blessing  of  Providence,  however, 
again  interposed  ;  for,  after  they  had  been  about  three  months  in  sus- 
pense, on  the  afternoon  of  ^he  27th  of  August,  1803,  a  shout  of  te  pahia, 
te  pahia,  (a  ship,  a  ship,)  resounding  through  the  island,  aroused  them 
into  new  expectations.    Hope  and  fear  now  alternately  prevailed  ;  thejr 


392  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

apprehended  that  the  captain  might  have  some  possible  objection ;  that 
he  might  be  going  to  China,  or  on  some  other  more  circuitous  voyage. 
It  so  happened,  however,  that  the  goodness  of  Providence  was  complete  ; 
the  ship  was  going  to  the  very  place  to  which  of  all  others  they  wished, 
to  Port  Jackson. 

There  were  so  many  ceremonies  to  be  performed  at  Atahourou,  that 
the  business  had  not  been  finally  settled  when  the  ship  arrived.  The  in- 
telligence of  this  event,  however,  brought  Pomarrey  home  to  prepare  his 
presents  ;  he  got  his  hogs  in  the  canoe,  and  was  half  way  to  the  ship, 
when  he  was  seized  suddenly  with  a  fit,  and,  falling  with  his  hands  on 
the  side  of  the  canoe,  expired.  The  poor  fellows  in  the  canoe  imme- 
diately paddled  back  as  fast  as  possible  to  his  house  at  Oparree,  where, 
on  her  way  likewise  to  visit  the  ship,  Edeah  had  by  this  time  arrived.  It 
has  been  before  mentioned,  that  they  imputed  the  death  of  others  to  the 
prayers  of  the  missionaries  ;  and  that  they  are  persuaded  the  prayers  of 
these  holy  men  have  this  kind  of  sacred  witchcraft.  Under  such  impres- 
sions, it  may  readily  be  conceived  that  the  situation  of  the  missionaries 
is  not  the  most  pleasant  in  the  world.  They  indeed  neglect  nothing  to 
render  their  mission  successful ;  on  every  Sabbath-day  they  traversed 
the  country,  two  by  two,  in  diflferent  directions.  But,  it  is  feared,  their 
efforts  will  for  a  long  period  be  unavailing.  The  natives  consider  them  as 
very  good  men,  and  love  and  esteem  them  accordingly ;  but  they  do  not 
comprehend,  and  therefore  do  not  believe,  the  articles  of  their  religion. 
One  Sunday  evening  Mr.  Jefferson  requested  permission  to  exhort  Otoo 
and  Terenaveroa,  with  all  their  followers  ;  Otoo  sent  a  messenger  to 
Mr.  TurnbuU  on  the  occasion,  saying  that  he  wished  to  see  him ;  he  ac- 
cordingly went,  and  found  Mr.  Scott  and  Mr.  Jefferson  in  the  act  of  ex- 
hortation. Their  congregation  might  amount  to  about  fifty.  Upon  its 
conclusion,  Mr.  Turnbull  demanded  of  Otoo  what  he  wanted  with  him. 
He  asked,  upon  the  departure  of  the  missionaries,  whether  it  was  all  true 
they  had  preached  1  He  replied  in  the  affirmative  ;  that  it  was  strictly 
so  according  to  his  own  belief,  and  that  of  all  the  wiser  and  better  part 
of  his  countrymen.  He  demanded  where  Jehovah  lived  ;  Mr.  Turnbull 
pointed  to  the  heavens.  He  said  he  did  not  believe  it.  His  brother  was, 
if  possible,  still  worse.  Edeah  was  looking  on,  with  a  kind  of  haughty 
and  disdainful  indifference.  It  was  all  kavery,  or  falsehood  ;  adding,  they 
would  not  believe  unless  they  could  see ;  and  observed,  as  they  could 
bring  down  the  sun  and  moon  by  means  of  a  quadrant,  why  could  they 
not  bring  down  their  Saviour  by  a  similar  operation  1 

The  missionaries  apparently  lived  together  in  the  greatest  love  and 
harmony,  and  all  of  them  presented  an  example  of  industry.  Their  situa- 
tion, however,  was  by  no  meana  so  comfortable  as  many  of  their  country- 
men may  be  inclined  to  imagine  ;  for  as  their  stock  of  European  articles 
decreases,  they  must  proportionably  lose  their  influence  over  the  natives. 
They  possessed  a  public  garden  very  well  stocked  and  cultivated,  and  the 
greater  part  of  them  a  private  one  not  much  inferior.  The  space  en- 
closed within  the  palisades  of  the  public  garden  is  about  four  acres.  It 
seems  natural  to  imagine  that  its  beauty  and  utility  would  have  acted  as 
a  stimulus  to  the  natives  to  imitate  their  industry  ;  but  the  indolence  of 
the  Otaheiteans  is  beyond  the  cure  of  any  common  remedy.  In  the  gar- 
dens of  the  missionaries  are  lemon,  lime,  orange,  peach,  and  citron  trees, 
in  great  number  and  perfection  ;  they  have,  moreover,  patches  of  the  tarra 
root,  Indian  corn,  and  indigo.  It  must  be  some  vears,  however,  before 
they  can  expect  t9  derive  any  considerable  advantage  from  these.     Mr. 


JOHN  TtRNBTTLt.  393 

Jefferson  had  opened  a  school,  but  only  one  native  attended ;  this  was 
the  daughter  of  a  European,  one  of  the  crew  of  the  Matilda.  These  good 
men,  at  Mr.  Turnbull's  departure,  were  very  anxious  to  receive  intelli- 
gence from  their  friends  in  England,  and  were  in  daily  expectation  of  the 
arrival  of  one  of  their  ships.  Edeah  observed,  in  a  manner  which  it  was 
not  difficult  to  interpret,  that  this  ship  was  a  long  time  coming.* 

They  took  their  final  leave  of  Otaheite  on  the  2d  of  September,  1803, 
bending  their  course  for  the  Friendly  Islands.  On  their  way  thither  made 
Savage  Island  ;  and  the  wind  being  fair  and  a  commanding  breeze,  sailed 
within  the  distance  of  three  miles  of  the  shore.  They  next  made  the 
Island  of  Eooa,t  or  Middleburg,  the  easternmost  of  the  Friendly  Islands, 
and  lay  off  and  on  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  trading  with  the  natives 
for  cocoa  nuts  and  curiosities.  These  people,  in  their  manners  and  ap- 
pearance, have  a  great  resemblance  to  the  Sandwich  islanders.  Their 
canoes,  with  the  exception  of  those  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  were  the 
neatest  seen  in  these  seas.  The  people  appeared  to  be  persuaded  that 
their  curiosities  were  inestimable,  for  they  observed  no  moderation  in  they 
demands.  They  trade  as  if  they  had  been  accustomed  to  extortion  all 
their  lives  ;  they  wanted  axes  and  scissors  in  exchange  for  their  worth- 
less trumpery.  From  the  short  visit  paid  this  people,  it  is  impossible  to 
say  anything  with  regard  to  their  habits  and  manners  ;  the  uncommon 
ferocity  of  their  looks,  however,  must  excite  an  involuntary  surprise  at  a 
first  interview  with  them.  This  perhaps  appeared  more  striking,  as  they 
had  but  then  left  the  Otaheiteans,  whose  looks  rather  invite  to  confidence. 

It  is  said  that  some  of  the  missionaries,  in  their  efforts  to  improve  the 
condition  of  this  people,  have  lost  their  lives.  The  remainder  were  pro- 
videntially preserved  by  the  arrival  of  a  Spanish  prize,  on  board  of  which 
was  one  of  their  brethren  of  the  name  of  Harris,  who,  in  despair  of  effect- 
ing any  useful  purpose,  had  left  the  Marquesas.  He  had  joined  this  prize 
as  a  kind  of  navigating  pilot  at  Otaheite,  on  her  way  to  Port  Jackson  ; 
and,  in  consequence  of  his  interest,  had  procured  the  admission  of  the 
other  missionaries  on  board,  and  thus,  in  all  probability,  saved  their  lives. 
Since  that  time,  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Portland's  crew  have  fallen  victims 
to  the  treachery  of  these  islanders  ;  and  three  of  the  sailors  belonging  to 
the  Union,  who  landed  among  them,  have  been  barbarously  and  inhumanly 
murdered.  And,  while  on  this  subject,  we  cannot  omit  a  circumstance 
of  a  peculiar  nature,  which  took  place  at  Vavao,  one  of  the  neighbour- 
ing islands,  in  August,  1801  -.  The  last  missionary  ship,  on  her  passage 
from  Otaheite  to  China,  waiving  all  intercourse  with  Tongataboo,  made 
choice  of  the  harbour  of  that  island,  which  is  represented  as  large  and 
capacious,  for  the  purpose  of  recruiting  her  stock  of  water,  &c.,  &c.  On 
clearing  the  harbour,  they  observed  a  large  double  canoe,  which  had  just 
arrived  from  the  Hapaee  Islands,  and  had  an  European  on  board.  Curi- 
osity led  them  to  send  the  pinnace  to  hear  the  state  of  those  islands  ; 
at  one,  P.  M.,  the  pinnace  returned  with  the  European,  who  proved  to 

*  The  continued  acts  of  oppression  that  have  been  exercised  by  Pomarrey, 
or  Otoo,  since  the  death  of  his  father,  has,  exactly  as  was  foreseen,  brought 
upon  him  a  just  and  merited  punishment.  The  whole  people,  unable  to  en- 
dure their  hard  lot,  and  stimulated  by  a  desire  of  liberty  and  of  vengeance, 
had  recoiirse  to  arms ;  and  after  various  engagements,  in  which  they  wers 
always  successful,  at  last  drove  him  and  the  whole  of  his  partisans  from  the 
island.  The  missionaries,  alarmed,  and  under  the  most  serious  apprehen- 
sions for  the  safety  of  their  lives,  came  to  a  resolution  of  abandoning  the 
island,  and  retiring  to  Port  Jackson.  t  ^r  Eaoowee. 


394  VOYAGES  ROITND  THE  WORLI?. 

be  Mr.  George  Veeson,  who  was  left  at  Tongataboo  by  the  Duff.  The 
pinnace  had  some  difficulty  in  getting  him,  as  the  chief  had  given  orders 
to  take  him  on  shore,  and  then  destroy  him,  that  he  might  not  give  infor- 
mation respecting  several  Europeans  that  had  been  murdered  by  them  at 
the  Hapaee  Islands.  He  had  made  several  attempts  to  get  away  previous 
to  this,  and  was  often  on  the  point  of  escaping,  but  the  vigilance  of  the 
savages  rendered  them  all  abortive. 

On  making  the  land  about  Port  Jackson,  some  young  Otaheiteans  on 
board  were  in  raptures,  probably  thinking  it  was  England  ;  but  seeing  the 
barrenness  of  the  country  as  they  entered  the  harbour,  and  the  scragginesa 
of  the  trees,  their  spirits  evidently  sunk.  On  coming  to  an  anchor  in 
Sydney  Cove,  there  was  a  coach  and  four  standing  almost  opposite  the 
ship.  This  astonished  them  beyond  measure.  Each  inquired  of  the  other 
their  opinion  of  this  wonderful  phenomenon.  They  concluded  that  it  must 
be  a  travelling  house  ;  but  they  could  find  no  name  for  the  horses,  having 
in  their  country  no  larger  animals  than  hogs,  though  some  of  them  indeed 
were  of  an  uncommon  size,  weighing  from  thirty  to  thirty-five  score. 
The  Otaheiteans  therefore  called  them  by  the  name  of  mighty  Logs. 

During  Mr.  TurnbuU's  absence  from  the  colony  in  1801,  and  return  in 
the  latter  end  of  1803,  many  stone  buildings  had  been  erected,  and  the 
appearance  of  the  whole  town  much  changed  for  the  better,  the  governor 
encouraging  the  erection  of  these  edifices  by  all  the  means  in  his  power. 
The  discovery  of  lime-stone  in  various  parts  at  this  time  essentially  con- 
tributed to  the  execution  of  these  patriotic  efforts.  Many  of  the  houses, 
which  had  been  erected  at  the  first  settlement  of  the  colony,  were  in  a 
state  of  rapid  decay  ;  the  governor,  therefore,  with  a  laudable  provision 
for  the  gradual  improvement  of  the  town,  prohibited  the  proprietors  from 
rebuilding  them  int  he  old  style.  If  they  were  in  circumstances  to  rebuild 
with  stone,  they  were  to  do  so  ;  if  not,  they  were  at  all  events  to  introduce 
some  improvement  upon  the  ancient  method,  or  the  governor  refused  them 
his  sanction  and  assistance. 

The  most  common  indigenous  animals  of  this  country  are  the  dog,  which 
is  here  of  the  wolf  nature,  and  much  eaten  by  the  natives.  The  kangaroo 
is  likewise  considered  by  them  a  great  delicacy  ;  and,  in  times  of  scarcity, 
was  much  sought  after  by  the  European  inhabitants.  They  used  it  as  a 
substitute  for  beef ;  it  does  not  eat  unlike  it,  and  usually  weighs  from 
twenty-five  to  one  hundred  and  forty  pounds. 

Bass's  Straits,  since  their  discovery,  have  afforded  employment  for  a 
number  of  hands,  who  are  engaged  by  different  individuals  at  Port  Jack- 
son, and  carried  thither  in  small  colonial  vessels.  They  are  stationed  in 
different  places,  in  gangs  of  ten  or  twelve,  more  or  less,  to  collect  the  oil 
of  the  sea-elephant,  and  seal-skins,  with  which  the  straits  abounded  on 
their  first  discovery.  The  elephant  oil,  next  to  the  spermaceti,  is  said  to 
be  the  most  valuable  of  any.  A  mercantile  gentleman  resident  in  the 
colony,  Mr.  Robert  Campbell,  who,  from  his  public  spirit  and  the  general 
accommodation  he  affords  the  settlers,  is  deserving  of  every  encouragement, 
was  making  up  a  cargo  of  it  for  the  English  market.  When  Mr.  Turn- 
bull  left  the  colony,  he  had  collected  about  180  tons.  The  seal-skins  are 
generally  disposed  of  to  American  and  other  ships  going  to  China,  but 
latterly  they  have  found  a  much  more  profitably  market  in  England.  Some 
few  are  tanned  and  worked  up  for  various  purposes  in  the  country. 

The  country  having  been  originally  covered  with  wood,  and  the  stumps 
of  the  trees  still  remaining  in  the  ground,  agriculture  is  prevented  from 
being  carried  on  by  the  help  of  cattle.     It  is  by  manual  labour  only,  and 


JOHN  TTJRNBULLs  595 

chiefly  by  the  hoe,  that  the  soil  is  cultivated,  which  much  enhances  the 
value  of  the  produce.  The  cultivation  of  the  country,  therefore,  has  taken 
place  but  in  patches,  where  spme  peculiar  advantageous  circumstances,  as 
good  land,  a  navigable  creek  or  river,  &c.,  have  induced  a  family  to  settle. 
They  hold  their  lands  as  a  perpetual  grant  under  the  hand  of  the  gover- 
nor and  seal  of  the  colony  ;  and  the  only  clause  is  a  quit-rent  of  two 
shillings  and  sixpence  per  annum  for  every  100  acres,  and  a  reservation  of 
such  timber  for  the  crown  as  may  be  fit  for  naval  purposes.  The  quantity 
of  land  hitherto  granted  by  the  crown  to  settlers  is  twenty-five  acres  to  a 
convict  whose  time  is  expired,  and  who  has  been  allowed  to  settle  ;  thirty 
to  a  private  soldier  ;  fifty  to  a  non-commissioned  officer  ;  one  hundred  to 
a  commissioned  ditto  ;  and  one  hundred  and  eighty  to  a  free  man  from 
England.  But  of  late  the  regulation  in  some  instances  has  been  broken 
through,  and  government  has  been  more  liberal  in  their  grants.  The 
appearance  of  the  farms  bespeaks  the  industry  of  the  owners,  and  every 
farmer  keeps  as  many  men  as  the  produce  of  his  land  will  admit  of.  The 
seed-time  for  wheat  is  from  the  beginning  of  April  to  the  middle  of  May, 
and  it  is  reaped  in  December.  Indian  corn  is  planted  in  the  months  of 
October  and  November,  and  pulled  in  April  and  May.  The  produce,  of 
course,  is  different  according  to  the  various  natures  of  the  land,  from  twelve 
to  forty  bushels  per  acre.  At  Hawkesbury  the  land,  when  first  cultivated, 
is  said  to  have  produced  sixty  bushels  per  acre,  but  on  calculation  they 
do  not  make  the  average  of  the  colony,  in  ordinary  years,  more  than 
fifteen  bushels  per  acre.  The  quantity  of  seed-wheat  required  is  from 
one  and  a  half  to  two  and  a  half  bushels  per  acre,  and  that  of  Indian  cora 
two  quarts  per  acre.  Potatoes  may  be  planted  and  dug  throughout  the 
whole  year.  The  grape  answers  well,  but  is  little  cultivated  in  the  country. 
The  day's  work,  throughout  the  year,  is  fixed  at  ten  hours,  and  six  oa 
Saturday.  If  a  master  employs  any  prisoner  in  his  own  time,  his  pay- 
ment is  not  to  be  more  than  at  the  rate  of  one  shilling  per  diem.  Clothing 
for  the  convicts  is  issued  twice  annually,  viz.,  in  December  and  June.  In 
December  each  man  is  furnished  with  one  frock,  one  shirt,  one  pair 
trousers,  one  pair  breeches,  and  one  pair  shoes  j  in  June,  with  two  jackets, 
two  shirts,  one  pair  breeches  or  trousers,  one  hat,  and  two  pair  shoes. 
Masters  not  having  an  opportunity  of  clothing  such  prisoners,  on  appli- 
cation, are  supplied  with  the  above  articles  at  the  government  price.  By 
his  agreement  with  government,  the  employer  is  to  find  sufficient  lodging 
for  such  servant  on  his  farm  or  habitation  ;  nor  is  the  prisoner  to  absent 
himself  on  any  account,  without  leave  from  his  employer.  One  great  dif- 
ficulty in  the  government  of  this  settlement  is  to  prevent  the  escape  of 
the  convicts.  Scarcely  a  ship  leaves  the  port,  without  some  attempt 
being  made  ;  and  the  failure  of  one  is  only  the  commencement  of  another. 
Very  severe  is  the  penalty  for  carrying  prisoners  away  whose  terms  of 
transportation  have  not  expired.  In  1809  the  master  of  a  vessel  was  fined 
£800  for  having  contravened  the  port  orders,  by  secreting  three  convicts. 
The  usual  method  of  payment  in  this  colony  is  by  the  barter  of  one  com- 
modity for  that  of  another.  Spirits,  tea,  sugar,  and  tobacco,  are  in  greatest 
demand  ;  and  next  to  these,  the  manufactures  and  productions  of  the 
mother  country.  These  articles  are  received  in  exchange  to  the  great 
advantage  of  the  seller.  There  is  scarcely  any  specie  in  circulation. 
The  most  common  money,  if  such  it  may  be  called,  is  the  notes- of-hand 
of  individuals,  which,  however  respectable,  as  in  some  instances  may  be 
the  credit  of  the  drawers,  is  very  inconvenient  to  adventurers,  who  can 
stay  only  a  certam  time,  and  cannot  expect  to  circulate  such  notes  beyond 


396  VOYAOBS  ROUND  THE  WORID. 

the  colony.     There  is,  however,  a  good  quantity  of  copper  coin  in  circu- 
lation, which  passes  for  double  its  value. 

The  Calcutta  having  completed  her  repairs  and  cargo,  the  captain  and 
Mr.  Turnbull  embarked  on  board  that  ship  on  the  evening  of  the  16th  of 
March,  1804,  in  very  ill  health,  brought  on  by  a  course  of  hardships  and 
fatigue.  And  on  the  following  day  bade  adieu  to  this  settlement,  where, 
from  party  divisions  and  the  bad  habits  of  the  convicts,  it  requires  some 
discretion  in  a  stranger  to  steer  clear  of  offence.  «  On  the  27th  of  April 
rounded  Cape  Horn.  On  the  22d  of  May  arrived  off  the  harbour  of  Rio 
Janeiro,  in  latitude  22  degrees  54  minutes  south,  and  longitude  42  degrees 
42  minutes  west.  At  length,  after  an  absence  of  four  years  and  twenty- 
one  days,  the  long-lost  shores  of  Albion  made  their  appearance.  Two  days 
after  they  anchored  at  Spithead,  in  the  midst  of  a  fleet  of  ships,  the  de- 
fence and  just  pride  of  their  country. 


CAPTAIN  KRUSENSTERN.— 1803-6. 

On  the  7th  of  August,  1802,  Captain  Krusenstern  was  appointed  to 
the  command  of  an  expedition  preparing  for  the  north-west  coast  of 
America  ;  but  it  was  not  until  February,  1803,  that  two  ships,  one  of 
450  tons,  the  other  of  370  tons,  had  been  purchased,  for  £17,000  sterling, 
in  London.  In  addition  to  this  sum,  their  repairs  had  cost  £5,000.  The 
first  of  these  two  vessels  was  called  Nadeshda,  or  the  Hope,  the  other 
the  Neva  ;  the  former  commanded  by  himself,  the  latter  by  Captain 
Lisianskey.  M.  de  Resanoff  embarked  in  the  Nadeshda,  as  ambassador- 
extraordinary  to  the  court  of  Japan.  Valuable  presents  were  prepared  to 
secure  the  favour  of  the  monarch  and  his  ministers ;  and,  to  effect  this 
with  the  greater  certainty,  some  Japanese,  who,  in  1796,  were  captured 
in  the  Aleutian  Islands,  such  of  them,  at  least,  as.  had  not  embraced  the 
Christian  religion  and  wished  to  return  home,  were  to  be  conveyed  back 
from  Irkutsk,  the  place  of  their  confinement. 

On  the  5th  of  June,  1803,  the  ships  destined  for  the  voyage  arrived  at 
Cronstadt.  On  the  7th  of  August,  at  nine  in  the  morning,  they  sailed. 
On  the  26th  of  September  crossed  the  meridian  of  Greenwich  ;  soon  after 
saw  St.  Ann's,  the  eastern  point  of  the  entrance  to  Falmouth,  and 
Pendennis  Castle,  which  is  the  westernmost.  At  eight  o'clock  anchored 
in  the  Carreck  road. 

The  wind  was  now  favourable,  and  they  waited  with  considerable  im- 
patience for  M.  ResanofF,  who,  at  length,  arrived  at  Falmouth  early  in 
the  morning  of  the  5th.  The  same  day  they  sailed  from  Carreck  road. 
On  the  19th  anchored  in  Santa  Cruz,  Teneriffe.  About  twelve  at  noon, 
on  the  27th,  they  weighed  with  a  pleasant  southerly  breeze.  On  the  6th 
of  November,  at  daybreak,  perceived  the  Island  of  St.  Antonio  at  the  dis- 
tance of  from  twenty-five  to  twenty-eight  miles.  During  the  whole  time 
that  the  trade  wind  lasted  they  were  accompanied  by  an  infinite  number  of 
bonitos,  and  harpooned  some  of  them  almost  daily.  They  made  a  fresh 
and  palatable  dish  for  the  people.  They  caught  but  one  shark,  part  of 
which  was  eaten,  although  it  was  not  so  good  as  a  bonito.  The  Japanese, 
however,  ate  the  head,  and  seemed  to  relish  it  much.  At  daybreak, 
December  11th,  saw  the  Island  of  Frio,  which  lies  near  Cape  Frio,  and 
is  easily  distinguished  by  a  deep  valley  which  divides  the  island  into  two 
equal  parts.  They  now  held  a  course  directly  for  St.  Catharine's,  the 
depth  £)f  the  road  of  which  diminishes  gradually  to  five  fathoms,  in  which 


CAPTAIN  KRtJSENSTEKN.  397 

■oundings  they  anchored  at  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  o(  the  2l8t  of  De- 
cember. 

The  town,  which  is  very  pleasantly  situated,  consists  of  one  hundred 
ill-constructed  houses,  and  is  inhabited  by  two  thousand  or  three  thousand 
poor  Portuguese  and  negro  slaves.  The  governor's  house  and  the  bar- 
racks are  the  only  buildings  distinguished  by  their  appearance  above  the 
rest.  They  were,  at  this  time,  building  a  church,  which  in  many  Catho- 
lic countries  is  thought  more  of  than  either  hospitals  or  any  other  useful 
building.  On  the  main,  as  well  as  in  the  island,  the  soil  is  remarkable 
fruitful.  Excellent  coflfee  and  sugar  are  cultivated  here.  The  rum  is 
not  equal  to  that  of  Jamaica  ;  experience  convinced  them  that  it  improves 
by  age  and  travelling,  and  yields  then  in  nothing  to  the  rum  of  Santa 
Cruz.  But  as  foreign  ships  are  only  allowed  to  purchase  for  ready-money, 
and  none  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  government  are  permitted  to  send  their 
produce  to  Europe,  the  prospect  of  selling  it  falls  entirely  to  the  ground. 
Where  the  market  is  overstocked,  industry  must  naturally  be  checked  ; 
and  they  only  cultivate,  therefore,  sufficient  for  their  own  use,  and  to 
enable  them  to  send  yearly  one  or  two  small  vessels,  of  about  seventy  to 
eighty  tons,  to  Rio  de  Janeiro,  to  barter  inland  productions  against  Euro- 
pean goods  ;  for  the  inhabitants  of  these  parts  receive  only  from  Rio  de 
Janeiro  the  most  indispensable  articles  of  life. 

On  the  22d  of  January  the  Neva  received  a  new  foremast,  and  on  the 
25th  a  mainmast.  Day  and  night  the  crews  of  both  ships  were  employed 
in  getting  her  ready  for  sea.  On  the  2d  of  February  the  ambassador 
came  on  board,  accompanied  by  the  governor  and  several  of  his  officers. 
The  guns  of  all  the  three  forts  fired  the  moment  the  boat  hove  in  sight. 
On  the  26th  of  February  had  sight  of  the  whole  coast  of  Staten  Land, 
trending  from  south  to  south-east,  at  a  distance  of  from  thirty-five  to  forty 
miles.  The  land  formed  nearly  a  straight  line,  lying  east  and  west,  and 
appeared  to  consist  entirely  of  pointed  hills,  separated  from  each  other  by 
deep  hollows,  and  cut  sharp  off  by  the  sea.  At  eight  o'clock,  in  the 
morning  of  the  3d  of  March,  four  weeks  after  their  departure  from  St. 
Catharine's,  they  doubled  Cape  Horn,  On  the  24th,  so  high  a  wind  arose 
at  north-north-east,  veering  to  north-north-west,  with  lofty  waves  and  foggy 
weather,  that  they  lost  sight  of  the  Neva.  At  daybreak,  on  the  6th  of 
May,  saw  Fetugu  Island,  one  of  the  Marquesas,  distant  from  thirty-five 
to  thirty-eight  miles.  This  island  is  lofty,  but  is  not  of  a  great  circum- 
ference ;  it  consists  of  a  single  high,  and  at  the  summit  almost  flat  rock, 
with  a  gentle  inclination  from  north  to  south.  On  the  northernmost  point 
is  to  be  perceived,  though  not  very  distinctly,  a  division  forming  two  hills. 

About  five  in  the  afternoon  perceived  Nukahiwa  wrapped  in  fog,  which 
prevented  their  forming  any  correct  judgment  of  its  distance.  At  eleven 
o'clock  next  day  they  perceived  to  the  westward  a  canoe  rowing  off ;  it 
had  an  out-rigger,  and  was  paddled  along  by  eight  Indians  :  they  were 
much  struck  by  a  white  flag  it  had  hoisted,  a  token  of  peace  that  led 
them  to  expect  some  European  on  board  of  it ;  their  expectations  were 
soon  confirmed.  There  was  an  Englishman  in  the  boat,  who  at  first  had 
quite  the  appearance  of  one  of  the  islanders  ;  his  dress  being  entirely  in 
their  fashion,  consisting  merely  of  a  girdle  round  the  waist.  He  showed 
the  certificates  of  two  Americans,  (to  whom  he  had  been  of  assistance 
during  their  stay  here,  particularly  by  procuring  them  wood  and  water,) 
in  which  it  was  attested  that  he  had  conducted  himself  well  ;  and  he 
offered  his  service,  which  they  readily  accepted,  being  glad  to  procure  so 
good  an  interpreter,  by  whose  assistance  thev  hoped  to  obtain  some  par- 

34 


398  VOYAGES  ROtTND  THE  WORLD. 

ticular  information  about  this  almost  unknown  island.  This  Englishman, 
whose  name  was  Roberts,  told  them  that  he  had  been  seven  years  upon 
the  island,  and  two  years  previously  in  that  of  Santa  Christina  ;  that  ha 
had  been  put  on  shore  on  the  latter  out  of  an  English  merchant- ship,  the 
crew  of  which  had  mutinied  against  their  captain,  and  could  not  prevail 
upon  him  to  join  their  party  ;  and  in  Nukahiwa  he  had  lately  married  a 
relation  of  the  king's,  by  which  he  acquired  great  consideration  ;  so  that 
it  would  be  very  easy  for  him  to  be  of  assistance  to  them.  At  the  same 
time  he  warned  them  against  a  Frenchman,  who  had  deserted  from  an 
English  merchant-ship,  and  had  likewise  resided  here  for  so.me  years. 
This  Frenchman  he  described  as  his  bitterest  enemy,  who  omitted  nothing 
to  blacken  him  in  the  eyes  of  the  king  and  the  islanders,  and  had  often, 
he  added,  made  attempts  against  his  life.  Here,  too,  the  innate  hatred 
between  the  French  and  English  appeared.  Not  content  to  disturb  the 
peace  of  the  whole  civilized  world,  even  the  inhabitants  of  the  lately- 
discovered  islands  of  this  ocean  must  feel  the  influence  of  their  rivalship 
without  so  much  as  knowing  the  origin  of  it.  At  noon  anchored  in  Port 
Anna  Maria ;  the  small  Island  of  Mutanoe,  which  forms  the  western 
side  of  the  entrance,  bearing  south-west  thirty  degrees,  and  Mattau,  on 
the  east  side,  nearly  south. 

They  had  scarcely  let  go  their  anchor,  when  the  ship  was  surrounded 
by  several  hundred  of  the  inhabitants,  who  brought  cocoa  nuts,  bread 
fruit,  and  bananas,  for  sale.  The  only  things  they  could  give  them  in 
exchange  were  pieces  of  old  iron  hoops,  four  or  five  inches  long,  with 
which  they  had  supplied  both  ships  for  this  purpose  while  at  Cronstadt. 
Such  a  piece  was  usually  the  price  of  five  cocoa  nuts  and  three  or  four  of 
the  bread  fruit  ;  but  though  they  seemed  to  set  a  very  high  value  ou 
these,  axes  and  hatchets  were  the  chief  objects  of  their  wishes.  They 
showed  a  childish  joy  on  receiving  even  a  small  piece  of  iron  hoop,  and 
usually  e-vinced  their  satisfaction  by  a  loud  laugh,  displaying  their  newly- 
acquired  riches  with  an  air  of  triumph  to  their  less  fortunate  companions, 
who  swam  round  the  ship.  This  expression  of  pleasure  was  perhaps  a 
proof  of  the  little  opportunity  which  they  have  hitherto  had  of  procuring 
this  valuable  metal ;  and,  indeed,  they  collected  from  the  account  of 
Roberts,  that  only  two  small  American  merchant-ships  had  touched  here 
in  the  space  of  seven  years. 

At  four  in  the  afternoon  the  king  and  his  suite  came  on  board.  His 
name  was  Tapega  Kettenowee.  He  was  a  very  strong,  well-made  man, 
with  a  thick  and  extremely  fat  neck,  from  forty  to  forty-five  years  of  age. 
His  body  was  tattooed,  with  a  dark  colour  approaching  to  black,  so  com- 
pletely, that  it  even  extended  to  spots  on  his  head,  from  which  his  hair 
had  been  cut  away.  He  was  in  nowise  to  be  distinguished  from  the 
lowest  of  his  subjects,  being,  with  the  exception  of  the  tschiabu,*  entirely 
naked.  The  captain  led  him  to  his  cabin,  and  gave  him  a  knife  and  a 
piece  of  red  cloth  about  twenty  ells  long,  which  he  immediately  bound 
round  his  loins.  To  his  suite,  consisting  chiefly  of  his  relations,  he  also 
made  some  presents,  although  Roberts  advised  him  not  to  be  so  generous, 
as  not  one  of  them,  not  even  the  king,  would  ever  make  any  return  for 
them  At  sunset  all  the  men  without  exception  went  on  shore  ;  but 
about  one  hundred  females  still  remained  near  the  ship,  round  which  they 
had  been  swimming  during  five  hours.  In  this  time  they  had  made  use 
of  every  art  in  their  power  to  declare  the  object  of  their  visit,  nor  could 

*  Tschiabu  is  the  girdle  which  the  savages  wear  round  their  waist ;  in  the 
Sandwich  Isles  it  is  called  maro. 


CAPtAlN  KRUSENSTERN.  309 

they  doubt  that  their  wishes  were  understood,  since  neither  their  panto- 
niiine  nor  their  attitudes  could  be  mistaken. 

At  ten  o'clock  next  day,  accompanied  by  the  ambassador  and  most  of 
the  officers  of  the  ship,  the  captain  went  on  shore.  Although,  from  the 
friendly  footing  on  which  they  stood  with  the  king  and  his  relations,  and 
the  perfectly  unsuspicious  disposition  of  the  islanders,  they  had  every 
reason  to  calculate  upon  an  amicable  reception,  it  was  prudent,  and  in- 
deed necessary,  not  to  appear  otherwise  than  well  armed.  They  there- 
fore took  a  boat  besides  the  barge,  of  which  all  the  men,  as  well  as  the 
officers,  were  armed,  the  former  with  a  brace  of  pistols  and  a  sabre,  and 
six  of  them  with  fire-arms.  The  Englishman  and  Frenchman  acted  aa 
interpreters.  A  vast  concourse  of  people  of  both  sexes  were  collected 
on  the  beach,  but  the  landing,  owing  to  the  heavy  surf,  was  not  effected 
without  difficulty.  Although  neither  the  king  nor  any  of  his  relations 
were  among  these  people,  they  conducted  themselves  with  great  decency 
and  respect.  After  they  had  examined  the  water  and  found  it  good, 
they  directed  their  course  toward  a  house  not  far  from  the  beach,  where 
the  king  was  waiting  to  receive  them.  About  500  paces  from  this  house, 
the  king's  uncle,  who  is  at  the  same  time  his  step-father,  and  is  here  al- 
ways called  the  king's  father,  came  to  meet  them.  He  was  an  old  man 
of  seventy-five  years  of  age,  yet  seemed  to  enjoy  perfect  health.  His 
eye  was  very  brilliant,  and  the  features  of  his  countenance  displayed  the 
marks  of  an  intrepid  and  determined  character.  He  was  one  of  the 
greatest  warriors  of  his  time,  and  was  now  suffering  from  a  wound  on 
his  eye,  over  which  he  wore  a  bandage.  In  his  hand  he  held  a  long 
staff,  with  which  he  endeavoured,  but  in  vain,  to  keep  back  the  crowd. 
He  took  Krusenstern  by  the  hand,  and  led  him  to  a  long  narrow  building, 
in  which  the  king's  mother  and  all  his  relations  of  her  sex  were  sealed 
in  a  row,  and  appeared  to  be  expecting  them ;  and  they  had  scarcely  en- 
tered the  precincts  of  this  building,  when  the  king  likewise  came,  and 
welcomed  them  with  much  familiarity  and  friendship.  The  people  here 
stood  still,  and  separated  in  two  bodies,  the  king's  dwelling  being  tahbu. 
The  captain  was  forced  to  sit  down  in  the  middle  of  the  royal  ladies, 
who  all  examined  him  with  a  great  deal  of  curiosity,  holding  his  hand 
by  turns,  clasped  within  theirs,  and  only  dropping  it  to  examine  his  clothes, 
the  embroidery  of  his  uniform,  hat,  &c. 

Notwithstanding  ail  their  exertions,  they  could  not  succeed  in  procuring 
hogs.  In  three  days  they  had  got  but  two,  of  which  one  was  a  present 
made  in  return  for  a  parrot,  and  the  other  received  in  exchange  for  a 
hatchet.  On  the  10th  of  May  received  word  from  the  shore  that  a  three- 
masted  ship  was  visible  from  the  hills  ;  and  as  they  imagined  that  this 
ship  must  be  the  Neva,  immediately  sent  a  boat  with  an  officer  to  bring 
her  into  the  bay.  Captain  Lisianskoy  s-iid,  that  he  had  waited  some 
days  at  Easter  Island  in  the  hopes  of  finding  them  there  ;  that  strong 
westerly  winds  had  prevented  him  from  anchoring,  but  that  he  had  sent 
a  boat  to  Cook's  Bay,  to  procure  some  bananas  and  potatoes  from  the 
natives. 

A  misunderstanding  now  taking  place,  the  two  captains  set  off  at 
eight  o'clock,  having  sent  their  long-boat  at  seven  for  water.  They  land- 
ed, accompanied  by  twenty  men  under  arms,  and  their  own  party  consisted 
of  more  than  twenty  persons  all  armed,  while  the  crews  of  the  two  long- 
boats, both  of  which  were  fitted  with  a  couple  of  one-pounder  swivel 
guns,  consisted  of  eighteen  men  under  the  command  of  two  officers. 
They  might  therefore  have  bid  the  whole  island  defiance,  in  case  of  any 


400  VOlfAGES  ROUND  THE  WOftLD. 

hostile  attempt  against  them,  but  nobody  appeared  on  the  beach  at  theii 
landing.  The  king  met  them  about  100  paces  from  his  dwelling,  whith- 
er, after  a  hearty  welcome,  he  accompanied  them.  The  whole  family 
was  assembled  there,  and  seemed  very  much  rejoiced  at  their  visit ;  in- 
deed, they  had  reason  to  be  so,  for  they  received  presents  from  every 
one  of  the  party,  and  the  queen  expressed  particular  satisfaction  at  a 
small  looking-glass  which  was  given  to  her.  They  asked  the  king  what 
had  induced  him  to  spread  a  false  report,  which  had  well  nigh  destroyed 
the  harmony  that  had  hitherto  existed  between  them,  and  might  have  led 
to  consequences  not  likely  to  have  proved  to  his  advantage.  He  said, 
that  he  had  never  feared  they  should  use  him  ill ;  btit  that  the  French- 
man had  told  him  Krusenstern  would  put  him  in  irons  without  fail  unless 
hogs  were  brought  on  board  ;  and  this  he  had  believed.  They  soon  set 
out  on  their  return  to  the  boats  ;  but  could  not,  however,  withstand  the 
request  of  the  friendly  Roberts,  to  visit  his  house  ;  nor  did  they  regret 
the  little  round  they  were  obliged  to  make  in  order  to  get  there.  It  was 
built  after  the  fashion  of  the  island,  was  quite  new,  and  stood  in  the 
midst  of  a  wood  of  cocoa  trees.  Upon  one  side  flowed  a  small  stream, 
and  upon  the  other,  in  the  middle  of  a  rock,  was  a  spring  of  mineral 
water.  They  all  seated  themselves  round  his  house  on  the  rocks,  which 
formed  the  banks  of  the  rivulet,  and  refreshed  themselves  in  the  shade 
of  the  lofty  cocoa  trees,  after  their  walk,  which,  owing  to  the  extreme 
heat,  had  greatly  fatigued  them.  About  twenty  of  the  islanders  were 
busied  throwing  down  cocoa  nuts  from  the  trees,  which  others  cleared 
of  the  husks  and  broke  with  great  skilfulness.  The  kernel  quieted  the 
hunger  they  began  to  feel,  and  quenched  their  thirst  with  the  fine  cold 
milk,  which  was  extremely  refreshmg.  Roberts's  wife,  a  pretty  young 
woman,  of  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  seemed  in  some  measure  to 
have  departed  from  the  custom  of  her  country,  and  very  much  to  her 
advantage,  for  she  had  not  rubbed  her  body  over  with  cocoa  oil,  which, 
although  it  gives  great  lustre  to  the  skin,  produces  a  very  powerful  smell. 

The  group  of  Washington  Islands  was  discovered  in  the  year  1791 
by  Captain  Ingraham,  of  the  American  merchant-ship  Hope,  of  Boston, 
in  his  voyage  from  the  Mendoza  Islands  to  the  north-west  coast  of  Ame- 
rica. A  few  weeks  afterward  they  were  again  seen  by  Marchand,  in 
the  French  ship  Le  Solide.  But  the  fact  is,  they  all  belong  to  the  group 
of  the  Marquesas,  discovered  by  Mendana,  in  1595. 

The  Nukahiwers  are  invariably  of  a  large  stature  and  well  made  ; 
they  are  very  muscular,  with  a  long  handsome  neck,  have  a  great  regu- 
larity of  countenance,  and  an  air  of  real  goodness,  which  was  not  belied 
by  their  dealings  ;  but  when  we  consider  the  cruelties  of  which  these 
men  are  capable,  the  prejudice  in  their  favour,  which  the  beauty  of  their 
person  is  very  likely  to  create,  soon  vanishes,  and  their  own  countenance 
seems  to  indicate  nothing  but  apathy.  An  animated  eye  none  of  them 
possess.  By  tattooing  their  bodies  very  much  and  rubbing  them  with 
a  dark  colour,  they  acquire  a  black  appearance  ;  otherwise,  their  natural 
colour  is  clear;  at  least,  that  of  the  boys  and  women  who  were  not  tat- 
tooed was  so  ;  nor  do  they  differ  very  much  from  the  colour  of  the 
Europeans,  being  only  rather  more  yellow.  Among  the  very  handsome 
people  of  this  island,  they  observed  two  in  particular,  who  excited  the 
admiration  of  them  all.  The  one  was  a  great  warrior  of  Tayo  Hoae, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  what,  in  the  la.iguage  of  the  country,  is  called 
Fire-lighter  to  the  king  ;  his  name  was  Mau-ha-u,  and  he  was  perhapTsi 
one  of  the  handsomest  men  that  ever  existed  ;  he  was  six  feet  two  inches 


CAPTAIN  KRUSENSTERN.  401 

high,  and  every  part  of  his  body  perfectly  beautiful.  The  other  was 
Bauting,  king  of  the  vale  of  Schegua,  who,  notwithstanding  his  age,  for 
he  certainly  was  not  less  than  fifty,  was  still  extremely  handsome.  The 
women  all  looked  well,  at  least  nothing  could  be  said  against  their  coun- 
tenances. A  well-proportioned  head,  a  face  rather  round  than  long,  a 
large  sparkling  eye,  blooming  colour,  very  good  teeth,  curled  hair,  which 
they  ornamented  with  a  white  band  in  a  manner  very  becoming  to  them 
all,  and  the  remarkably  clear  colour  of  their  bodies,  may  perhaps  entitle 
them  to  a  preference  over  the  inhabitants  of  the  Sandwich,  Society,  and 
Friendly  Islands. 

A  very  important  member  of  the  royal  family  is  the  fire-maker  ;  his 
duty  consists  partly  in  being  always  near  the  king's  person  to  execute  his 
orders  :  but  the  business  wherein  his  master  generally  employs  him  is 
of  a  nature  perfectly  characteristic  of  the  monarch  of  Nukahiwa.  On 
quitting  his  house  for  any  time,  his  fire-maker  does  not  accompany  him, 
but  must,  in  every  sense,  represent  his  person  with  the  queen,  who  finds 
in  him  a  second  husband  during  the  absence  of  the  first.  He  is  the 
guardian  of  her  virtue,  and  his  reward  the  enjoyment  of  that  which  he 
has  to  protect.  The  kings  of  Nukahiwa  probably  have  a' notion  that  it 
is  better  to  share  with  one,  what  would  otherwise  be  divided  among 
several ;  but  perhaps  the  duty  of  fire-maker  is  only  a  royal  luxury  with 
him.  Ther  herculean  Mau-ha-u  filled  this  post  near  the  queen  of  Tayo 
^oae  ;  but  he  certainly  did  not  merit  the  confidence  of  his  sovereign, 
for  he  appeared  to  be  a  very  bad  guardian  of  the  morals  of  his  wife. 

It  may  easily  be  imagined  that  a  people  who  find  pleasure  in  eating 
human  flesh,  will  frequently  wage  war  with  their  neighbours  to  procure 
some  of  this  delicacy,  although  there  should  be  no  other  sufl5cient  reason 
for  it ;  and,  in  their  art  of  war,  there  is  a  perfect  similarity  between  the 
character  of  these  savages  and  of  wild  beasts.  They  seldom  meet  in 
large  parties  in  the  field,  but  their  usual  mode  of  warfare  is  to  be  con- 
stantly watching  for,  and  secretly  seeking  to  butcher  their  prey,  which 
they  devour  on  the  spot.  He  who  evinces  the  greatest  skill  in  these  arts, 
who  can  lie  the  longest  on  his  belly  perfectly  motionless,  who  can  breath 
the  lowest,  run  the  swiftest,  and  spring  with  the  greatest  agility  from  one 
precipice  to  another,  acquires  no  less  reputation  ^monghis  comrsfdes  than 
the  brave  and  powerful  Mau-ha-u.  In  all  these  attainments  the  French- 
man particularly  excelled,  and  he  since  frequently  amused  them  with  a 
relation  of  his  exploits,  and  of  the  numbers  whom  he  had  slain  in  this 
mode  of  warfare  ;  entering  into  a  particular  detail  of  all  the  circumstances. 
But  he  assured  them,  and  even  Roberts,  his  enemy,  did  him  the  justice  to 
acknowledge,  that  he  had  never  eaten  human  flesh,  always  exchanging  his 
victims  for  hogs.  It  is  with  the  natives  of  the  neighbouring  valleys,  such 
as  Home,  Schegua,  and  Hottyschewa,  that  those  of  Tayo  Hoae  wage  a 
continued  warfare,  as  well  as  with  the  inhabitants  of  another  valley  far 
inland.  The  warriors  of  Home,  whose  number  is  about  1000,  have  a 
name  peculiar  to  themselves,  tai-pihs,  which  signifies  warriors  of  the 
great  ocean ;  with  these  tai-pihs  the  people  of  Tayo  Hoae  do  not  carry 
on  war  by  sea,  but  merely  by  land.  The  son  of  Kettenowee  is  married 
to  the  daughter  of  the  king  of  the  tai-pihs ;  and  as  she  joined  her  hus- 
band by  water,  the  sea  which  divides  these  two  valleys  is  tahbu,  that  is  to 
say,  must  not  be  contaminated  by  any  blood. 

Whenever  one  of  the  high  priests  of  the  valley  dies,  three  human 
bodies  must  be  sacrificed  to  him.  These  are  never  chosen  from  among 
the  people  Iq  which  the  priest  belonged,  but  must  be  taken  from  some  of 


402  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD 

the  neighbours,  and  several  canoes  are  immediately  despatched  to  procure 
them.  Roberts  was  able  to  give  but  very  little  insight  into  the  reliaious 
opinions  of  his  new  countrymen,  probably  because  their  ideas  are  but 
confused  upon  this  head  ;  although,  perhaps,  he  had  not  troubled  himself 
to  obtain  any  knowledge  of  them.  The  following  he  described  as  the 
usual  funeral  ceremonies,  in  which  the  spirit  of  their  origin  cannot  be 
mistaked  :  After  the  corpse  is  washed,  it  is  laid  upon  a  platform,  both 
being  covered  over  with  a  piece  of  entire  new  stuff,  and  the  next  day 
the  family  of  the  deceased  gives  a  grand  feast,  inviting  their  best  friends 
and  relations.  To  these,  at  which  the  priests  must  always  be  present, 
the  women  are  on  no  account  allowed  admittance  ;  they  produce  their 
whole  stock  of  hogs,  (seldom  eaten  but  upon  these  occasions,)  of  tarra  root, 
and  of  bread  fruit ;  and,  as  soon  as  the  guests  are  assembled,  they  cut  of  the 
hog's  head  to  propitiate  the  gods,  and  obtain  for  the  deceased  a  safe  and 
peaceable  passage  through  the  lower  regions.  This  gift,  which  the  priest 
takes  possession  of,  is  secretly  devoured  by  him,  and  he  only  leaves  a 
small  piece  of  it  under  a  stone.  The  friends  or  nearest  relations  of  the 
deceased  must  then  watch  for  some  months  over  the  corpse,  and  rub  it 
constantly  with  cocoa  oil,  to  prevent  putrefaction.  By  this  continued 
application  it  becomes  hard  as  a  stone,  and  quite  incorruptible.  Twelve 
months  after  the  first  feast,  a  second  equally  extravagant  meal  is  given, 
to  thank  the  gods  for  having  permitted  the  deceased  to  arrive  safe  in  tho 
other  world.  After  this  the  corpse  is  broken  into  pieces,  and  the  bones 
are  packed  in  a  small  box,  made  of  the  wood  of  the  bread  fruit  tree,  and 
carried  to  the  morai  or  burial-place,  where  no  woman  is  allowed  to  ap- 
proach under  pain  of  death. 

Roberts,  although  he  appeared  to  be  an  enthusiast  and  of  no  settled 
character,  was  a  man  of  strorg  understanding,  and  a  good  man.  The 
worst  that  his  bitter  enemy,  the  Frenchman,  could  say  against  him,  was, 
that  he  evinced  no  skill  in  stealing,  and  therefore  was  in  constant  danger 
of  dying  of  hunger.  He  had,  however,  by  degrees  acquired  that  esteem 
from  the  savages,  which  reason  must  obtain  from  stupidity,  and  he  had 
mt)re  influence  over  them  than  any  of  their  most  distinguished  warriors. 
To  the  king  he  had  become  particularly  necessary,  and,  no  doubt,  he  would 
effect  more  good  than  the  missionary  Crook,  who  remained  for  some  time 
upon  this  island,  was  able  to  perform  ;  for  the  latter  had  no  other  idea 
than  that  of  converting  the  Nukahiwers  to  Christianity,  without  recollect- 
ing that  it  was  first  necessary  to  make  them  men  ;  for  this  purpose 
Roberts  appears  more  proper,  as  well  on  account  of  the  example  he 
afforded  and  of  his  activity,  as  the  esteem  which  they  universally  bore 
him,  than  either  Crook  or  any  other  missionary  whatever.  He  has  built 
a  very  neat  house,  and  possesses  a  piece  of  land,  which  he  cultivates 
with  care  and  diligence  ;  and  he  never  fails,  where  it  can  be  done,  of 
introducing  improvements  before  unknown  to  them.  From  his  own  ac- 
count, he  led  a  happy  independent  life,  and  was  only  troubled  by  the 
thoughts  of  being  surrounded  by  cannibals,  for  which  reason  he  was  par- 
ticularly fearful  of  the  next  war.  They  offered  to  convey  him  to  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  from  whence  he  would  easily  find  an  opportunity  of 
getting  to  China,  but  he  could  not  prevail  on  himself  to  quit  his  wife,  who 
during  their  stay  bore  him  a  son,  and  it  is  probable  he  will  end  his  days 
in  Nukahiwa. 

The  information  with  regard  to  the  population  of  the  island  is  drawn 
certainly  from  a  very  arbitrary  estimation.  But  where  no  positive  account 
can  be  adduced,  anything  even  approaching  the  truth  becomes  of  value. 


CAPTAIN  KRUSENSTERN.  403 

Tayo  Hoae,  according  to  Roberts,  can  send  800  warnors  against  its 
enemies  ;  Home,  1000  ;  Scbegua,  500  ;  Maudayhas  1200  ;  Hottyschewa, 
to  the  south-west  of  Tayo  Hoae,  and  another  valley  to  the  north-east, 
have  each  1200.  These  numbers  Roberts  mentioned  at  random,  having 
no  positive  information  on  the  subject,  but  believing,  he  said,  that  they 
were  rather  below  than  above  the  mark.  The  warriors,  therefore,  amount 
to  5,900  ;  and  if  we  take  three  times  that  number  for  the  women,  children, 
and  old  people,  which  is  not  too  little,  considering  that  their  marriages 
are  very  unproductive,  the  whole  amount  of  the  population  is  17,700,  or, 
in  round  numbers,  18,000. 

The  two  Europeans,  who  had  both  resided  here  for  several  years, 
agreed  in  their  assertions,  that  the  natives  were  a  cruel  intractable  people, 
and,  without  even  the  exception  of  the  female  sex,  very  much  addicted 
to  cannibalism.  They  described,  as  eye-witnesses,  the  barbarous  scenes 
that  are  acted,  particularly  in  times  of  war ;  the  desperate  rage  with 
which  they  fall  upon  their  victims  ;  immediately  tear  off  their  head,  and 
sip  their  blood  out  of  the  skull  with  the  most  disgusting  greediness,  com- 
pleting in  this  manner  their  horrible  repast.  In  times  of  famine  the  men 
butcher  their  wives  and  children  and  their  aged  parents  ;  they  bake  and 
stew  their  flesh,  and  devour  it  with  the  greatest  satisfaction.  Some  years 
ago  an  American  merchant-ship  put  into  Port  Anna  Maria,  and  the  cap- 
tain, who  was  a  Quaker,  suffered  his  people  to  go  on  shore  unarmed  ;  but 
the  natives  no  sooner  perceived  their  defenceless  condition,  than  they 
assembled  in  order  to  attack  and  drag  them  into  the  mountains.  Roberts 
succeeded,  with  the  greatest  difficulty,  and  with  the  assistance  of  the 
king,  to  whom  he  represented  the  treachery  of  their  conduct  and  the 
consequences  it  would  infallibly  bring  upon  the  whole  island,  in  rescuing 
them  out  of  the  hands  of  these  cannibals. 

On  the  18th  of  May  they  set  sail,  in  very  bad  weather,  from  the  Bay 
of  Tayo  Hoae,  or  Anna  Maria.  On  the  7th  of  June,  at  half-past  eight, 
saw  land,  and  immediately  perceived  it  to  be  Ov/aihi,  distant  about  thirty- 
six  miles,  bearing  north-west,  yet  could  not  distinguish  Mowna  Roa. 
After  standing  in  to  about  six  miles  from  the  sl^ore,  put  the  ship  about, 
and  steered  along  the  coast  under  nothing  but  topsails,  heaving-to  as  soon 
as  they  saw  any  canoes  put  off.  Their  cargoes,  however,  did  not  in  the 
least  answer  expectation.  Some  potatoes,  half  a  dozen  cocoa  nuts,  and 
a  small  sucking-pig,  were  all  they  were  able  to  procure  out  of  six  canoes  ; 
and  these  they  did  not  obtain  without  difficulty  and  at  a  very  high  price, 
as  the  venders  would  take  nothing  but  cloth  in  payment,  and  they  had  not 
a  yard  on  board  to  dispose  of.  This  unfortunate  circumstance  made 
Krusenstern  determine  upon  loosing  no  more  time,  and  on  quitting  the 
coast  immediately  for  Kamtschatka,  where  he  should  arrive  without  fail 
about  the  middle  of  July.  Captain  Lisianskey,  whose  time  was  not  of 
equal  consequence  to  him,  resolved,  on  the  other  hand,  to  run  into  Kara- 
kakooa  Bay  for  a  few  days,  and  then  continue  his  voyage  to  Kodiac,  At 
daybreak,  July  14,  saw  to  the  north  a  high  mountainous  land,  which,  from 
its  direction,  must  have  been  Shipunskoy-noss.  About  eleven  next  day 
ran  into  Awatsha  Bay,  and  at  one  anchored  in  the  harbour  of  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul,  after  a  very  good  passage  of  thirty-five  days  from  Owaihi. 

They  did  not  find  the  Governor  of  Kamtschatka  at  the  harbour  of  St. 
Peter  and  St.  Paul,  his  usual  residence  being  at  Niznei  Karatskchatkoi, 
about  700  wersts  from  thence.  On  the  12th  of  August  he  arrived,  ac- 
companied by  his  younger  brother,  who  acted  as  his  adjutant,  and  by 
Captain  Feodoroff  and  sixty  men,  whom  he  had  brought  with  him  at  tho 


404  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

request  of  M.  de  ResanofF,  and  it  was  settled  that  they  should  sail  in  a 
week  after  his  arrival.  On  the  29th  of  August  the  ship  was  quite  ready 
for  sea,  and  on  the  30th  left  the  harbour  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  About 
noon,  September  30th,  the  weather  assumed  an  appearance  that  left  no 
doubt  of  what  would  soon  follow.  The  waves  ran  mountains  high  from 
the  south-east ;  the  sun  was  of  a  dead  pale  colour,  and  was  soon  conceal- 
ed behind  the  clouds,  which  flew  with  rapidity  from  the  same  quarter ; 
and  the  wind,  which  increased  gradually,  rose  by  one  o'cloclc  to  such  a 
height  as  to  prevent  their  taking  in  their  topsails  and  courses  without  the 
greatest  difficulty  and  danger,  the  tackle,  though  almost  all  new,  mostly 
giving  way.  About  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  storm  had  increased 
to  such  a  degree  as  to  rend  all  the  storm-sails,  the  only  ones  set.  Nothing 
could  equal  the  violence  of  the  gale.  .  Much  as  they  had  heard  of  the  ty- 
phous on  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  coasts,  this  exceeded  all  expectation. 
It  would  fall  within  the  province  of  the  poet  to  describe  it  properly. 
About  six  o'clock,  October  lOth,  saw  the  land  of  Japan,  bearing  west- 
north-west,  distant  nearly  forty-five  miles.  The  country  in  general  ap- 
peared to  be  very  mountainous,  and  the  hills,  among  which  were  some 
very  lofty  peaks,  were  in  double  and  sometimes  in  three  and  four  rows. 
A  short  time  before  sunset,  on  the  5th  of  October,  as  they  sailed  parallel 
with  the  south-west  coast  of  Satzuma,  saw  in  the  north-west  a  high  land  ^ 
looking  like  an  island,  which  they  afterward  learned  was  the  Island  of  y!^ 
Meacsima.  The  land  that  surrounds  Satzuma  Bay  is  very  mountainous, 
and  a  high  land  is  particularly  distinguishable  to  the  northward,  upon 
which  runs  a  line  of  mountains  of  a  wavy  form,  having  a  high  peak  in 
the  centre.  To  the  north-westward  of  these  there  is  a  double  peak,  ad- 
joining to  a  table-mountain,  from  whence  a  constant  smoke  ascends. 
This,  from  its  description,  seems  to  be  the  Unga  mountain,  so  remarkable 
during  the  persecution  of  the  Christians  in  Japan  ;  for  it  was  to  this  place 
that  the  unfortunate  enthusiasts,  to  whom  the  Jesuits  had  imparted  their 
religion,  were  brought  and  afterward  plunged,  if  they  persisted  in  not  re- 
turning to  the  religion  of  their  forefathers,  into  the  crater  of  the  volcano. 
From  Cape  Nomo  to  the  entrance  of  Nangasaki  there  were  several  small 
bights  behind  the  rocks,  bordered  by  the  most  beautiful  valleys.  The 
land  in  general  bore  decided  proofs  of  the  most  diligent  cultivation, 
affording  a  beautiful  prospect,  improved  by  very  long  avenues  of  trees ; 
behind  the  valleys  bordering  on  the  coast  the  land  to  the  northward  formed 
itself  into  a  chain  of  mountains,  A  boat  now  came  alongside,  having  a 
Japanese  officer  on  board,  which,  after  putting  some  questions,  immediate- 
ly returned  ;  nearly  two  hours  after  another  boat  came,  and  continued 
with  them  until  about  half-past  five,  when  they  came  to  an  anchor  at  the 
entrance  of  Nangasaki  Bay. 

Every  one  knows  the  insulting  jealousy  which  is  observed  toward 
strangers  in  Japan  ;  the  Russians  had  no  right  to  expect  a  more  favoura- 
ble treatment  than  other  nations  ;  yet,  as  they  had  an  ambassador  on  board, 
who  was  sent  merely  with  assurances  of  friendship,  by  the  monarch  of  a 
powerful  empire,  bordering  upon  these  people  so  suspicious  in  their  poli- 
tics, they  hoped  not  to  be  received  unfavourably.  Although  they  expected 
to  be  allowed  more  liberty  than  the  Dutch  enjoy  here,  they  found  them- 
selves greatly  mistaken.  The  first  proof  of  their  jealousy  was  evinced  in 
their  taking  from  them  all  their  powder  and  fire-arms,  even  to  the  fowling- 
pieces  belonging  to  the  officers,  among  which  were  some  of  considerable 
▼alue  ;  and  it  was  not  until  after  four  months'  constant  entreaties  and 
representations  that  these  latter  were   returned  to  them  in  order   to 


CAPTAIN  KRUSENSTERfT  406 

be  cleaned,  though  many  of  them  were  entirely  destroyed  by  the  time 
they  were  restored.  The  officers  were  indeed  allowed  to  retain  their 
swords,  a  favour  which  was  never  shown  to  the  Dutch,  and  the  soldiers 
were  permitted  to  keep  their  muskets  and  bayonets.  They  were  not  only 
forbidden  to  go  on  shore,  but  not  even  allowed  to  row  about  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  ship  ;  nor  was  it  until  after  a  six  weeks'  negotiation  that  a 
place  was  granted  them,  at  a  trifling  distance,  as  a  walk,  and  this  only  in 
consideration  of  the  pretended  illness  of  the  ambassador.  This  place  was 
close  to  the  shore,  in  a  confined  bay,  and  was  shut  in  on  the  land  side  by  a 
high  wall  of  bamboos  ;  and  although  its  whole  length  did  not  exceed  100 
paces,  and  its  width  at  the  most  was  forty,  there  were  two  watch-houses 
erected  in  its  immediate  vicinity.  One  single  tree,  but  not  a  blade  of 
grass,  adorned  this  promenade,  which  was  entirely  upon  a  rocky  ground. 
As  soon  as  any  boat  put  off  from  the  ship  for  Kibatsch,  for  so  this  pro- 
menade was  called,  a  fleet  of  ten  or  fifteen  vessels  immediately  put  them- 
selves in  motion,  surrounding  the  boat  on  all  sides,  and  in  this  same 
manner  it  was  conducted  back  again. 

The  acquaintance  formed  on  the  first  day  of  their  arrival  with  the  cap- 
tains of  the  Dutch  ships  made  a  continuation  of  their  intercourse  very 
desirable,  bat  the  Russians  were  never  allowed  to  visit  them,  nor  was  any 
Dutchman  permitted  to  go  on  board  their  ship.  When  the  Dutch  ships 
sailed,  they  were  ordered  upon  no  account  to  send  a  boat  off  to  them  ;  and 
when  Krusenstern  wished  Captains  Musquetier  and  Belmark  a  happy  voy- 
age, as  they  passed  by,  and  inquired  after  their  health,  the  only  answer  he 
received  was  a  sign  with  the  speaking-trumpet ;  for  which  the  chief  of 
the  Dutch  factory  apologized  in  a  letter  to  the  ambassador,  saying,  that 
the  captains  had  been  most  positively  forbidden  to  utter  the  least  sound 
in  answer  to  their  questions.  When  the  ambassador  at  length  received 
permission  to  land,  a  considerable  building  was  appointed  for  his  residence  ; 
but  the  seven  towers  of  Constantinople  were  hardly  so  well  guarded  as  their 
Megasaky,  for  this  was  the  name  of  the  Russian  Dezima.  The  house 
was  situated  upon  a  neck  of  land  so  near  the  sea,  that  on  the  south  and 
east  sides  the  water  at  high-tide  came  close  under  the  windows.  When 
we  say  windows,  this  word  can  scarcely  apply  to  a  square  space  about  a 
foot  wide,  provided  with  a  double  lattice-work,  and  which  therefore  ad- 
mitted but  very  little  light  into  the  room. 

They  steered  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  in  company  with  a 
Japanese  boat,  toward  Nangasaki,  and  anchored  about  half-past  five  at 
the  entrance  of  the  harbour.  The  same  evening,  about  ten  o'clock,  they 
anchored,  received  the  visit  of  several  magistrates,  or  banjos,  as  they  are 
called  in  Japan,  from  Nangasaki,  who,  without  waiting  for  an  invitation, 
walked  at  once  into  the  cabin,  and  seated  themselves  on  the  carpet.  The 
attendants  of  these  great  men  consisted  of  about  twenty  persons,  among 
whom  were  several  Japanese  interpreters  of  the  Dutch  language. 
The  opperhoofd,  or  director  of  the  Dutch  factory.  Mynheer  Van  Doeff, 
was  also  brought  along  with  the  banjos  ;  but  it  was  upward  of  an  hour 
before  he  was  permitted  to  come  on  board.  He  had  scarcely  entered  the 
cabin  with  his  suite,  consisting  of  his  secretary,  the  two  captains  of  the 
Dutch  ships  that  were  here,  and  a  Baron  Pabst,  when  they  were  all  obliged 
to  remain  during  several  minutes  in  an  inclined  posture,  which  they 
were  called  upon  to  do  by  a  most  insolent  order  from  the  interpreter; 
"  Mynheer  Opperhoofd,  compliment  voor  de  Opper  Banjosy  This  sub- 
missive, and  at  the  same  time  degrading,  attention  was  not  answered  even 
by  a  nod.     The  compliments,  as  they  are  called,  of  the  Dutch  are  some 


406  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

thing  between  the  bows  of  the  Europeans  and  Japanese,  which  last  consist 
in  throwing  yourself  flat  on  the  ground,  touching  the  earth  with  your  head, 
and  crouching  backward  and  forward  according  as  you  may  be  spoken  to 
by  your  superior. 

The  extraordinary  respect  with  which  the  interpreters  spoke  to  the  ban- 
jos gave  at  first  a  very  high  idea  of  the  character  of  these  magistrates, 
whose  rank  they  afterward  learned  was  very  inconsiderable ;  and  that 
nothing  but  a  commission  from  the  governor  imparts  to  them  a  temporary 
elevation.  Whenever  an  interpreter  had  anything  to  translate,  he  cast 
himself  on  his  hands  and  knees  before  the  banjos  ;  and  in  this  attitude, 
with  his  head  hanging  down,  he  made  a  hissing  noise  two  or  three  times 
with  his  mouth,  as  if  he  were  inhaling  the  air  that  surrounded  his  master. 
He  then  reported  to  the  banjos,  in  a  tone  of  voice  scarcely  audible,  and 
mixed  with  repeated  sighings,  in  short,  broken  sentences,  the  conversation 
which  in  Dutch  had  lasted  several  minutes.  If  a  Japanese  was  addressed 
by  a  banjos  he  crouched  to  him,  bowed  his  head  to  the  ground,  repeating 
constantly  the  monosyllable  Eh !  eh !  intending  to  signify,  "  I  under- 
,  stand."  The  banjos  always  conducted  themselves  with  great  dignity ; 
they  never  laughed,  but  occasionally  showed  their  satisfaction  by  a  smile. 

The  clothing  of  the  banjos,  as  well  as  of  the  interpreters,  consisted  of 
a  short  upper  garment  with  very  wide  sleeves,  and  under  this  a  complete 
gown,  reaching  quite  down  to  their  feet,  and  fastened  round  the  neck, 
and  very  similar  to  the  female  dress  in  Europe,  except  in  being  much 
narrower  from  the  hips  downward,  so  as  to  render  it  extremely  difficult 
for  them  to  walk ;  indeed,  they  never  walk  but  when  they  are  absolutely 
compelled  to  do  so.  This  is  the  usual  dress  of  all  the  Japanese  ;  and  the 
only  difference  between  the  clothes  of  the  rich  and  of  the  poor  is,  that 
those  of  the  former  are  made  of  silk,  while  the  latter  are  clad  in  coarse 
tvoollen  stuffs  ;  the  upper  garment  is  generally  black,  but  there  are  some 
of  different  colours,  and  the  lower  dress  is  mostly  of  mixed  colours. 
Every  one  has  his  family  arms  worked  into  his  clothes,  in  different  places, 
about  the  size  of  a  half  dollar,  a  practice  usual  to  both  sexes  ;  and  in  this 
manner  any  person  may  be  recognised,  and  the  family  to  which  he  be- 
longs easily  ascertained.  A  young  lady  wears  her  father's  arms  until 
after  her  marriage,  when  she  assumes  those  of  her  husband.  The  greatest 
mark  of  honour  which  a  prince  or  a  governor  can  confer  upon  any  ono 
:*s  to  give  him  a  cloak  with  his  arms  upon  it,  the  person  having  such  a 
one  wearing  his  own  arms  upon  his  under  dress  ;  and  the  ambassador 
was  frequently  told  how  supreme  a  happiness  would  be  conferred  upon 
him,  if  the  emperor  was  to  present  him  with  a  garment  bearing  the  im- 
perial arms. 

About  four  o'clock  the  next  afternoon  a  present,  consisting  of  fish, 
rice,  and  fowls,  was  brought  on  board  from  the  governor.  At  midnight 
they  weighed  anchor,  and  were  towed  by  about  sixty  boats  to  a  new  an- 
chorage, which  was  nearly  two  miles  and  a  half  off.  They  could  not  but 
admire  the  order  with  which  this  was  effected  ;  the  flotilla  divided  itself 
into  five  lines,  of  twelve  or  eighteen  boats  each,  which  kept  their  places 
so  regularly,  that  they  were  not  once  broken  ;  and,  notwithstanding  a 
foul  wind,  they  advanced  at  the  rate  of  two  miles  an  hour.  About  four 
in  the  morning  they  anchored  in  twenty-five  fathoms  water,  and  were  in- 
stantly surrounded  by  thirty-two  guard-boats,  which  formed  a  circle  round 
the  ship  that  no  vessel  was  allowed  to  break  through. 

Their  arrival  at  Nangasaki  was  too  important  an  event  in  Japan  for 
the  court  not  to  be  informed  of  the  most  trifling  circumstances ;  so  that, 


CAPTAIN  KRUSENSTERN.  407 

after  each  visit  of  the^nterpreters  to  the  ship,  a  courier  was  despatched 
with  an  account  of  every  word  and  gesture,  which  frequently  were  of  a 
nature  to  increase  the  suspicion  and  injure  the  pride  of  this  jealous  and 
haughty  people.  They  afterward  learned  that  the  cubo,  or  western  em- 
peror, could  determine  nothing  on  this  momentous  occasion  without  con- 
sulting the  dairy  ;  and  that  he  had  even  sent  an  embassy  concerning 
them,  to  ascertain  the  wishes  of  this  important  personage,  whom  the 
Japanese,  although  he  has  no  executive  authority,  hold  in  the  greatest 
veneration  on  account  of  his  religious  character. 

On  the  17th  of  December  the  ambassador  was  conveyed  on  shore,  for 
which  purpose  the  Prince  of  Fisen  sent  his  own  boat,  a  vessel  exceeding 
in  size  (being  120  feet  long)  and  magnificence  everything  they  had 
hitherto  seen.  The  walls  and  ceilings  of  the  numerous  cabins  were  all 
varnished  over  in  the  handsomest  manner,  and  the  stairs,  which  were  of 
red  wood,  were  polished  so  highly  as  to  have  the  appearance  of  lacker. 
The  decks  were  covered  with  mats  and  the  most  costly  carpets  ;  the 
curtains  to  the  doors  were  of  rich  stuffs ;  and  the  whole  boat  was  hung 
with  double  rows  of  silks  of  different  colours.  As  the  ambassador  stepped 
on  board,  the  Russian  imperial  standard  was  hoisted  and  waved  together 
with  the  flag  of  the  Prince  of  Fisen ;  and  his  guard,  which  accompanied  him 
on  board  the  vessel,  took  their  place  on  the  upper  deck,  close  to  the  standard. 

On  the  19th  of  February  the  ambassador  received  an  official  notice  that 
the  emperor  had  sent  a  person,  attended  by  eight  .nobles,  to  Nangasaki, 
with  full  powers  to  treat  with  him.  The  interpreters  did  not  exactly  tell 
him  that  he  would  not  now  have  any  occasion  to  travel  to  Jeddo,  yet  this 
was  easily  to  be  inferred.  The  person  whom  the  emperor  had  sent  was 
of  the  highest  rank,  and,  according  to  the  expression  made  use  of  by  the 
interpreters,  was  permitted  to  see  the  emperor's  feet,  though  never  to 
exalt  his  looks  higher  ;  (an  honour  which  even  the  Governor  of  Nangasaki 
could  not  boast ;)  and  it  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  so  great  a  character 
would  be  sent  merely  to  accompany  the  ambassador  to  Jeddo. 

It  was  only,  however,  on  the  12th  of  March  that  Skeyseima,  the  chief 
interpreter,  acquainted  the  ambassador  that  he  would  not  be  permitted  to 
travel  to  Jeddo  ;  and  that  the  Japanese  plenipotentiary  would  arrive  in 
ten  or  fifteen  days  in  Nangasaki,  after  which  the  ship  must  return  to 
Kamtschatka  as  soon  as  she  could  possibly  be  fitted  for  sea. 

On  the  30th  of  March  the  plenipotentiary  arrived  from  Jeddo.  The 
negotiations,  with  respect  to  the  ceremonies  of  the  audience,  which  were 
conducted  with  great  warmth  on  both  sides,  commenced  on  the  3d  of 
April,  when  it  was  concluded  that  the  ambassador  should  pay  the  re- 
presentative of  the  Japanese  emperor  an  European,  and  not  a  Japanese, 
compliment. 

On  the  4th  of  April  the  ambassador  had  his  first  audience,  to  which 
he  was  conveyed  in  a  large  boat,  adorned  with  flags  and  curtains.  His 
suite  consisted  of  five  persons,  Major  Frederici,  Captain  Feodoroff,  Lieu- 
tenant Koscheleff,  Dr.  Langsdortf,  and  Counsellor  Fosse,  besides  a  ser- 
geant, who  carried  the  standard ;  and  he  landed  at  a  place  to  the  north 
of  Dezima,  which  the  interpreters  called  Mussel  Trapp.  On  this  occa- 
sion merely  an  exchange  of  compliments  took  place,  and  a  few  insignifi- 
cant questions  were  put  to  him.  The  second  audience  was  conducted 
with  the  same  ceremonies,  and  here  the  negotiation  terminated  ;  the 
necessary  documents  being  dehvered  into  his  hands,  which  contained  an 
order  that  no  Russian  ship  should  again  come  to  Japan  ;  and  the  pre- 
sents, and  even  the  letter  from  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  were  all  refused. 


408  VOYAGES  ROUND  tHfe  WORLD. 

On  the  16th  of  April  the  ambassador  had  his  last  audience  of  tho 
plenipotentiary  ;  immediately  after  which  they  began  to  bring  the  cannon, 
anchors,  cables,  and  provisions  on  board.  The  satisfaction  which  the 
prospect  of  soon  quitting  Japan  occasioned  to  the  ship's  company,  was 
evinced  in  their  activity,  and  the  working  sixteen  hours  a  day,  to  get  the 
ship  in  readiness. 

At  four  in  the  morning  of  the  17th  of  April,  they  hove  in  their  first  an- 
chor ;  and  at  five  the  next  morning  sailed  out  of  the  bay,  with  a  moderate 
breeze  at  east-south-east,  very  glad  to  be  released  from  so  little  honoura- 
ble confinement,  which  might  have  been  the  prelude  to  a  harder  fate. 
At  daybreak,  on  the  21st,  perceived  the  land,  and  they  held  a  course 
parallel  with  the  Island  of  Tsus.  The  north  extremity  of  this  island  at 
that  time  bore  west  by  north,  and  a  high  flat  mountain,  not  far  from  this 
point,  south-west  85  degrees ;  at  one  the  north  end  of  the  island  bore 
nearly  west.  On  the  1st  of  May  perceived  again  the  land  of  Japan  bear- 
ing east-north-east,  at  the  distance  of  about  eighteen  or  twenty  miles':  it 
had  quite  the  appearance  of  an  island,  and  they  had  no  doubt  of  its  being 
that  of  Iwo-sima,  laid  down  in  the  charts  nearly  in  39  degrees,  between 
Cape  Sangar  and  Jacata  Bay ;  the  next  day  they  were  convinced  that 
it  was  no  island,  but  a  promontory  projecting  very  much  to  the  west,  and 
distinguishable  by  a  high  mountain,  with  a  rounded  summit  lying  in  the 
centre  of  it. 

In  latitude  40  degrees  50  minutes  and  longitude  219  degrees  54  minutes 
perceived  a  town,  with  a  port  and  several  vessels  lying  at  anchor ;  the 
valley  in  which  it  was  built  appeared  in  the  highest  degree  cultivated. 
Corn-fields,  meadows  in  which  a  considerable  quantity  of  cattle  were 
grazing,  and  groups  of  trees,  apparently  more  the  work  of  art  than  of 
nature,  beautified  this  district.  About  five  o'clock  four  large  boats  put 
off  from  the  town,  which  then  bore  south-east,  and  rowed  toward  them  in 
the  greatest  hurry.  The  number  of  people,  of  whom  there  were  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  in  each  boat,  rendered  their  intention  rather  suspicious  ;  but 
though  it  was  scarcely  probable  that  they  could  be  hostile,  considering 
the  well-known  strictness  of  the  Japanese  government,  still  they  thought 
it  prudent  to  load  the  guns  and  put  the  soldiers  under  arms.  By  six 
o'clock  they  overtook  them  ;  they  called  to  them  in  Japanese,  requesting 
they  would  come  on  board  ;  but  of  this  they  appeared  afraid.  After 
having  sailed  twice  round  the  ship,  and  considered  it  with  the  greats. -t 
attention,  they  hauled  up  their  sails,  and  returned  toward  the  town.  On 
the  4th  they  were  nearly  opposite  the  middle  of  the  Straits  of  Sangar,  in 
which,  even  from  the  mast-head,  they  were  unable  to  perceive  any  land  ; 
but  on  both  sides,  to  the  eastward  of  Cape  Sangar  and  Cape  Nadeshda, 
were  several  promontories.  The  line  of  coast  from  Cape  Nadeshda  to 
Cape  SineJiO  is  north-west,  the  distance  between  the  two  being  eighteen 
miles.  Between  these,  in  a  large  but  open  bay,  is  the  town  of  Matumay, 
whose  name  the  Japanese  have  extended  to  the  whole  Island  of  Jeso  : 
it  is  of  considerable  size,  and  the  residence  of  the  governor  ;  but  is  the 
only  town  of  any  magnitude  in  the  whole  island.  Before  they  had  wea- 
thered a  long  point  of  Jeso,  they  perceived  a  boat  with  four  of  the  natives 
rowing  off  They  continued  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  alongside  the 
ship,  but  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  come  on  board,  and  at  length 
returned.  However,  they  had  scarcely  cast  anchor  when  several  paid 
them  a  visit,  who  immediately  came  on  board  without  the  least  signs  of 
fear.  As  they  came  on  deck  they  fell  on  their  knees,  laid  their  two  hands 
on  their  heads,  passing  them  down  their  faces  and  their  bodies,  at  the 


CAPTAIN  KRUSENSTERN.  409 

came  time  that  they  made  a  low  bow.  On  the  1 1th,  at  nine  in  the  morning, 
some  Japanese  arrived  with  an  officer  at  their  head,  in  a  large  boat,  rowed 
by  the  natives  of  the  island.  The  officer  appeared  extremely  alarmed  at 
their  arrival,  requesting  most  earnestly  they  would  immediately  sail  from 
hence.  The  Japanese  discipline  exists  even  here,  the  farthest  boundary 
of  their  possessions,  in  all  its  force.  The  officer  could  in  nowise  be  per- 
suaded to  accept  a  trifling  present  which  the  ambassador  offered  him,  and 
even  refused  to  take  a  glass  of  Japanese  sakky,  their  favourite  beverage. 

They  now  steered  toward  Aniwa  Bay  ;  the  west  side  of  which  is 
throughout  very  mountainous,  and  even  now  was  covered  in  part  with 
snow.  At  ten,  next  morning,  Krusenstern  went  with  the  ambassador  on 
board  a  Japanese  ship,  where  they  were  handsomely  received,  and  treated 
with  sakky,  rice  bread,  and  tobacco.  The  manner  in  which  fish  are 
caught  here  is  a  sufficient  demonstration  of  their  abundance  ;  as  they  do 
not  even  employ  a  net  for  this  purpose,  but  dip  for  them  with  a  pail  du- 
ring the  ebb.  This  article  is  so  important,  and  is  become  so  necessary 
to  the  poor  people  in  the  north  of  Japan,  that  the  most  absolute  orders  of 
their  government  could  not  prevent  them  from  coming  to  Aniwa  Bay  to 
procure  them,  let  the  possessors  of  Aniwa  be  who  they  would  ;  and  in  all 
probability  they  might  obtain  them  at  a  much  more  reasonable  rate  from 
Europeans  than  from  their  avaricious  banjos. 

The  Ainos,  or  natives  of  Jeso,  are  rather  below  the  middle  stature, 
being  at  the  most  five  feet  two  or  four  inches  high,  of  a  dark,  nearly  black, 
complexion,  with  a  thick,  bushy  beard,  black,  rough  hair,  hanging  straight 
down  ;  and,  excepting  the  beard,  they  have  the  appearance  of  the  Kam- 
tschatdales,  only  that  their  countenance  is  much  more  regular.  The  women 
are  sufficiently  ugly  :  their  colour,  which  is  equally  dark,  their  coal-black 
hair  combed  over  their  faces,  blue-painted  lips,  and  tattooed  hands,  added 
to  no  remarkable  cleanliness  in  their  clothing,  do  not  give  them  any  great 
pretensions  to  loveliness.  The  characteristic  quaUty  of  an  Aino  is  good- 
ness of  heart,  which  is  expressed  in  the  strongest  manner  in  his  coun- 
tenance ;  and,  so  far  as  they  were  enabled  to  observe  their  actions,  they 
fully  answered  this  expression.  Their  dress  consists  chiefly  of  the  skins 
of  tame  dogs  and  seals ;  but  some  were  in  a  very  diffisrent  attire,  which 
resembled  the  Parkis  of  the  Kamtschatdales,  and  is,  properly  speaking,  a 
white  shirt  worn  over  their  other  clothes.  In  Aniwa  Bay  they  were  all 
cl  ..d  in  furs  ;  their  boots  were  made  of  seal-skins,  and  in  these  likewise 
the  women  were  invariably  clothed. 

On  the  28th  they  had  a  high  wind  from  west-north-west,  which  in- 
creased toward  evening  to  a  storm,  and,  conceiving  themselves  to  be  but 
only  a. short  distance  from  the  Kuriles,  lay-to  under  a  reefed  topsail  and 
storm-sails.  Next  day  the  wind  had  become  so  moderate  that  they 
were  enabled  to  carry  all  sail ;  and  at  eight  o'clock  perceived,  at  a  short 
distance,  a  high  peak,  which  must  have  been  the  twelfth  island,  or  that 
called  Matua.  The  sirait  between  these  two,  from  the  description  of  the 
Kuriles  in  Pallas's  new  northern  editions,  is  thirty  miles  wide,  and  per- 
fectly safe  ;  but  in  Sarytscheff's  chart  it  is  only  twenty.  At  two  in  the 
afternoon  of  the  3d  of  June  discovered  the  coast  of  Kamtschatka.  The 
wind  continued  moderate  from  the  south-east,  and  it  was  not  until  the 
6th  that  they  cast  anchor  in  the  harbour  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  forty- 
eight  days  after  leaving  Nangasaki. 

On  the  5th  of  July  Krusenstern  proceeded  from  this  harbour  to  examine 
what  was  called  Sachalin  Island,  but  which  is  now  known  to  be  a  penin- 
sula of  Tartary.     The  narrative  affords  only  nautical  details,  of  n©  general 

35 


410  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

interest  whatever ;  on  the  north  part  of  it  were  found  Tartar  inhabitants, 
and  on  the  south  Japanese,  each  of  which  seem  to  have  usurped  their 
authority  from  the  Ainos,  or  proper  natives.  On  the  30th  of  August  re- 
turned to  Kamtschaika,  where  their  speedy  return  excited  some  surprise 
and  fear. 

The  first  prospect  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  might  raise  in  the  mind  of 
a  person  newly  arrived,  and  ignorant  of  this  Russian  estabUshment,  the 
idea  of  its  being  a  colony  founded  a  few  years,  but  recently  abandoned. 
Nothing  is  visible  here  that  could  at  all  persuade  any  one  of  its  being  in- 
habited by  civilized  people  :  not  only  Awatsha  Bay,  but  the  three  ad- 
joining ones,  are  entirely  forlorn  and  uninhabited  ;  nor  is  the  beautiful 
harbour  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  enlivened  by  a  single  boat.  Instead  ol 
this,  the  shores  are  strewed  with  stinking  fish,  among  which  a  number  ol 
half-starved  dogs  are  seen  wallowing  and  contending  for  possession.  It 
is  perfectly  in  vain  that  you  look  about,  upon  landing,  for  even  one  well- 
built  house  :  m  vain  does  the  eye  seek  a  road,  or  even  a  well-beaten  path, 
along  which  a  person  may  walk  in  safety  to  the  town  :  no  garden,  no 
meadow,  no  plantation  nor  enclosure  of  any  kind,  indicative  of  the  least 
cultivation  ;  the  only  things  to  be  perceived  are  a  few  huts,  mostly  m  a 
decayed  state,  Balagans  and  Jurien.  Instead  of  bridges  over  the  few 
small  brooks  that  flow  from  the  neighbouring  mountains  into  the  valley 
where  the  town  stands,  are  merely  planks  laid  across  them,  and  these 
only  passable  with  the  greatest  attention.  Five  or  six  cows  feeding  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  houses,  and  innumerable  dogs  lying  about  in  holes,  which 
they  dig  as  resting-places  and  as  a  shelter  against  the  flies,  render  it,  if 
not  impossible,  at  least  extremely  dangerous,  to  walk  after  dark. 

Those  who  have  resided  several  years  in  the  interior  of  the  country 
concur  in  the  opinion  of  the  climate  of  the  north,  but  especially  of  the 
middle  provinces  of  Kamtschatka  being  infinitely  superior  to  the  sou- 
thern parts,  particularly  near  Werchnoy  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Kam- 
tschatka River,  where  the  soil  is  invariably  very  fruitful.  The  length  of  the 
winter  is  no  obstacle  to  cultivation  ;  it  reigns  equally  long  in  the  northern 
provinces  of  Russia  and  in  Siberia,  where  the  vegetation  is  so  extremely 
rapid,  that,  notwithstanding  the  shortness  of  the  summer,  several  spe- 
cies of  corn  are  brought  to  perfection.  In  the  interior  of  Kamtschatka 
many  kinds  of  vegetables  are  cultivated,  and  every  sort  of  corn  ;  but  not 
a  sufficiency  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants  and  of  the  military.  As  to  the 
climate  of  Kamtschatka,  it  is  not  so  bad  as  it  is  represented  ;  that  the 
frequent  fogs  prevent  any  vegetables  from  coming  to  perfection  is  merely 
an  excuse  made  by  the  inhabitants  in  order  not  to  work,  their  indolence 
knowing  no  bound,  the  immoderate  use  of  spirits  rendering  them  incapa- 
ble of  every  exertion  ;  for  the  officers  who  are  garrisoned  there,  and  who 
have  laid  out  gardens  for  themselves,  produce  (with  the  exception  of 
peas  and  beans)  almost  every  kind  of  vegetable  necessary  for  the  table, 
and,  indeed,  in  such  quantity,  that  they  were  enabled  to  supply  the  Na- 
deshda  with  a  considerable  stock.  If,  therefore,  the  cultivation  of  these 
plants  succeede  in  two  or  three  gardens,  it  is  very  evident  that  every 
inhabitant,  every  soldier,  might  obtain  a  supply  of  cabbages,  carrots,  and, 
at  any  rate,  of  potatoes  for  his  own  use,  sufficient  in  some  degree  to  se- 
cure him  against  the  scurvy,  so  common  here  in  the  winter  months,  from 
the  total  want  of  vegetable  and  animal  food.  The  reason  why  this  is  not 
done  is,  that  they  do  not  begin  to  cultivate  their  gardens  until  the  early 
part  of  July,  so  that  the  seeds  do  not  come  to  anything  before  the  end  of 
that  month.     If  the  possessor  of  a  garden,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly, 


CAPTAIN  KRUSENSTERN.  41 1 

any  industrious  person,  (for  it  is  open  to  every  one  to  cultivate  as  much 
land  as  he  pleases,)  were  to  begin  to  till  his  ground  in  May,  there  is  no 
doubt  but  that  he  might  furnish  his  table  throughout  the  summer,  not 
only  with  salads,  radishes,  cucumbers,  &c.,  but  also  with  cabbage,  which 
they  obstinately  refuse  to  plant,  and  peas  and  beans  in  perfection.  At  an 
ostrog,  or  small  village  in  Awatsha,  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  that 
name,  the  captain  saw,  in  the  month  of  June,  a  small  garden  in  blossom, 
at  the  very  same  time  that  they  were  maintaining,  at  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Paul,  that  it  was  still  too  early  to  plant ;  because  they  have  never  been 
in  the  habit  of  doing  so  before  the  month  of  July. 

It  may  not  be  superfluous  to  say  something  on  the  mode  of  living  of 
the  Russians  in  Kamtschatka,  which  will  account  for  the  great  mortality 
that  reigns  there.  There  is  scarcely  any  difference  between  the  life  of 
the  officer,  the  merchant,  the  priest,  or  the  soldier ;  the  one  may,  indeed, 
possess  more  money  than  the  other  ;  but  as  money  is  not  held  here  in  any 
estimation,  this  naturally  produces  a  great  equality  in  their  rank,  at  least 
in  their  mode  of  living.  Nor  does  this  prejudice  the  discipline  of  the 
troops  ;  the  soldier  feels  less  than  any  one  the  distress  that  reigns  in 
Kamtschatka,  not  only  because  the  Russian  soldier  is  accustomed  from 
his  infancy  to  forego  the  comforts  of  life,  (and  he  only  then  feels  the 
hardship  of  his  lot  when  he  does  not  meet  with  that  indulgence  which  is 
due  from  the  officer  to  him,  or  experiences  any  injustice  in  the  service,) 
but  because  the  soldiery  there  have  an  opportunity  of  enriching  themselves 
which  is  not  open  to  the  officers,  and  there  are  at  this  time  many  who 
possess  several  houses.  In  the  winter,  for  instance,  when  they  are  not 
upon  duty,  they  are  allowed  to  go  sable-hunting,  and  a  soldier  will  verj 
frequently  earn  from  three  to  five  hundred  roubles  in  the  course  of  the 
season  ;  but  as  most  of  them  are  unmarried,  and  can  purchase  nothing 
but  spirits  for  their  money,  their  earnings  are  as  speedily  squandered. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  married  men,  at  least,  would  make  a 
better  use  of  their  money  if  any  opportunity  were  afforded  them  ;  for  a 
great  change  was  very  soon  observable  in  the  dress  of  the  people  of  St. 
Peter  and  St.  Paul,  especially  of  the  women,  after  the  arrival  of  the  Na- 
deshda.  How  easy  would  it  be  to  supply  Kamtschatka  with  every  neces- 
sary, by  sending  a  ship  there  annually,  direct  from  any  Russian  European 
port  ;  the  prices  of  every  article  would  not  only  fall  several  hundreds  per 
cent.,  in  the  same  manner  as  spirits  fell  shortly  after  their  arrival  from 
twenty  to  sixty  roubles  the  stof,  and  sugar  from  seven  roubles  to  one  and 
a  half  the  pound,  but  even  the  north-eastern  part  of  Siberia  might  be  sup- 
plied at  a  much  lower  price  with  a  variety  of  foreign  goods,  from  St.  Peter 
and  St,  Paul  itself,  than  it  can  by  an  overland  carriage  across  the  whole 
of  Russia  and  Siberia.  It  may  serve  as  a  proof  of  what  has  been  here 
asserted,  that  several  articles  put  on  board  the  Nadeshda  by  the  Ameri- 
can company  were  sent  from  thence  to  Ochotsk  for  sale.  The  difficulty 
of  conveyance  from  the  European  provinces  of  Russia  to  Ochotsk,  and 
from  thence  to  Kamtschatka,  has  hitherto  been  assigned  as  the  reason 
why  the  inhabitants  of  this  province  are  not  only  suffered  to  want  all  the 
comforts  of  life,  but  even  many  of  the  necessaries.  Gin  is  the  only  article 
which  the  merchants  never  suffer  to  be  wanted.  The  propensity  to 
strong  liquors  is  greater  there  than  at  other  places,  and  is  besides  more 
pardonable,  as  the  merchants  endeavour  by  every  means  to  keep  it  up  ; 
and  a  bout  of  drinkmg  with  some  of  their  companions  (which  is  seldom 
done  at  less  expense  than  fifty  roubles)  is  the  only  means  which  they  have 
of  disposing  of  their  troublesome,  but  hard-earned,  winnings. 


412        '  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

Bread  and  salt  are  two  articles  invariably  possessed  by  the  poorest 
beggar  in  Europe  ;  but  in  Kamtschatka,  where,  owing  to  the  increased 
number  of  the  military,  the  consumption  of  bread  is  very  considerable, 
and  the  conveyance  is  so  very  difficult  and  expensive,  the  soldier  obtains 
only  half  his  ration  in  flour,  and  the  other  half  in  money,  yet  never  to  an 
amount  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  purchase  it ;  for  the  merchant  of 
Kamtschatka  will  not  import  flour,  because  it  is  frequently  injured  during 
the  journey,  by  which  means  the  cost  is  sacrificed,  while,  on  the  contrary, 
gin  is  always  sure  to  produce  a  clear  and  immediate  profit ;  and  flour  has 
no  established  price  at  Kamtschatka,  although  it  is  generally  estimated 
at  ten  roubles  the  pud.  The  soldier's  pay  is  never  sufficient  to  purchase 
it  at  this  rate  ;  and  it  would  be  infinitely  better  for  him  if  he  received 
bis  flour  in  kind  ;  nor  can  it  be  imagined  that  there  would  ever  be  a 
superfluity  of  this  article  in  Kamtschatka,  not  only  because  the  soldier 
does  not  actually  receive  his  customary  schtschy  and  meat,  but  also  be- 
cause the  flour  is  very  much  injured  by  the  length  of  the  overland  con- 
veyance in  leathern  skins,  and  the  full  delivery  can  never  be  baked.  This 
is  likewise  the  case  with  grits.  Fish  they  never  experience  the  want  of, 
and  during  the  summer  season  it  afTords  them  a  wholesome  and  agreeable 
nourishment ;  but  in  winter  they  are  reduced  to  eat  it  in  a  dried  state,  (in 
which  condition  it  is  called  jukula,  in  Kamtschatka,)  and  without  anything 
to  relish  it  ;  and  such  diet,  when  long  continued,  cannot  but  be  extremely 
injurious  to  health.  The  scarcity  of  salt  is  still  greater  than  that  of  bread : 
on  their  arrival  a  few  pounds  of  salt  were  considered  as  a  valuable  pre- 
sent ;  and  great  as  was  their  partiality  for  spirits,  those  who  brought  fish, 
berries,  or  game,  were  infinitely  more  thankful  for  a  little  of  the  former 
than  when  they  rewarded  their  labours  with  gin,  which  they  scarcely 
ever  gave  to  them.  If  there  were  no  want  of  salt,  and  it  were  sold  at  a 
just  and  reasonable  price,  the  inhabitants  would  not  be  compelled  to  eat 
their  fish  in  a  dried  state  ;  salt  fish  would  at  any  rate  prove  an  agreeable 
change  ;  and  how  many  other  occasions  are  there  for  this  most  necessary 
article.  Every  soldier  receives  a  pound  of  salt  monthly,  but  the  Kam- 
tschatdale  gets  none.  In  the  vicinity  of  St  Peter  and  St.  Paul  there 
were  two  salt-pans,  which  once  produced  a  sufficiency  for  the  comsump- 
tion  of  whole  of  Kamtschatka,  but  they  have  both  been  suffered  to  go  to 
ruin  for  some  years  past ;  probably  because  the  conveyance  of  the  kettles 
and  other  necessary  articles,  by  laud,  was  considered  as  too  difficult. 

On  their  arrival  a  pailful  of  very  bad  gin  cost  ]  60  roubles,  and  a  stof 
twenty.  This  price  was  estabhshed  by  the  actual  governor  ;  for,  previous 
to  his  time,  the  merchants,  whose  avarice  is  unbounded,  and  who  were 
well  assured  that  the  propensity  to  gin-drinking  would  not  be  diminished 
by  any  exorbitance  of  price,  had  already  increased  it  to  more  than  300 
roubles  the  pailful.  The  price  of  sugar  is  usually  from  four  to  five  roubles 
the  pound,  but  often  rises  to  seven  ;  tobacco,  five  roubles  ;  butter  and  salt 
one  and  one  and  a  half  roubles  the  pound.  Soap,  candles,  &c.,  are  seldom 
to  be  had  under  two  roubles  the  pound.  Many  other  necessary  articles 
of  housekepping  are  in  a  like  proportion  ;  but  it  is  seldom  that  even  the 
greatest  necessaries  are  to  be  procured.  '  Rum,  brandy,  wine,  coflfee, 
spices,  vinegar,  mustard,  oil,  rice,  flour,  butter,  and  other  similar  articles, 
which  are  to  be  met  with  in  the  poorest  villages  of  Russia,  are  never  im- 
ported for  sale  ;  neither  are  any  of  those  necessary  for  clothing,  with  the 
exception  of  some  very  coarse  linen,  silk  handkerchiefs,  and  blue  nankeen. 
The  officers  procure  from  Irkutsk  the  cloth  and  other  things  requisite  for 
their  uniforms,  but  always  at  a  very  expensive  rate.     Slack  bread,  and 


CAPTAIN  KRUSENSTERN.  413 

fish  dressed  without  sauce  or  spice,  without  salt,  vinegar,  or  pepper,  are 
the  only  provisions  which  the  officers,  as  well  as  the  men,  are  able,  for  a 
constancy,  to  set  upon  their  tables.  There  is  nothing  a  hardy  soldier  will 
not  endure  so  long  as  he  is  in  good  health  ;  but  if  he  falls  sicks,  to  what 
a  wretched,  miserable,  helpless  condition  is  he  reduced.  No  physician, 
no  medicine,  no  reviving  draught,  nor  strengthening  diet,  are  to  be  pro- 
cured at  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul ;  he  cannot  even  struggle  against  death, 
which  seizes  him  in  this  most  painful  condition. 

At  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  the  number  of  horned  cattle  amounted  to 
ten  cows  and,  perhaps,  as  many  young  heifers  ;  there  was,  consequently, 
no  butter,  and  very  little  milk.  It  would  be  extremely  easy  to  support 
some  hundred  head  there,  as  not  only  close  to  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  but 
on  the  banks  of  the  Awatsha  River,  there  is  plenty  of  the  finest  grass,  if 
there  were  a  sufficiency  of  men  to  collect  a  quantity  of  hay  equal  to  the 
support  of  so  large  a  flock  during  a  long  winter,  independent  of  the  mili- 
tary, who,  indeed,  constitute  the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants,  and  are 
so  much  employed  in  other  works.  The  breeding  of  hogs  is  difficult, 
owing  to  the  scarcity  of  corn  ;  but  it  would  be  easier  to  have  sheep,  goats, 
and  poultry,  the  former  requiring  nothing  but  good  hay.  Although  m  the 
vicinity  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  they  met  with  no  short  delicate  grass, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  these  species  exist  in  these  pzu-ts. 

Most  of  the  inhabitants  suffer  from  scurvy  throughout  the  winter.  Of 
five  people  whom  they  had  brought  as  passengers  to  Kamtschatka,  and 
who  had  been  in  perfect  health  during  the  whole  voyage,  they  found,  on 
their  return  from  Japan,  only  one  in  good  health,  the  rest  having  suffered 
very  much  during  the  winter  from  this  disorder.  The  prospect  of  any  in- 
crease of  the  inhabitants  of  Kamtschatka  was  very  much  diminished,  jiot 
only  by  the  smallness  of  the  number  of  the  remaining  Russians  and  Kam- 
tschatdales,  but  by  that  of  the  women  bearing  no  kind  of  proportion  to  the 
men.  At  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  where  the  number  of  inhabitants,  in- 
cluding the  military,  amounts  to  one  hundered  and  fifty  or  one  hundred 
and  eighty  persons,  there  are  not  twenty- five  females. 

The  Kamtschatdales  never  inhabit  the  towns  built  by  the  Russians,  but 
live  scattered  about  the  interior  of  the  country,  in  small  villages,  called 
ostrogs,  of  different  dimensions.  Since  the  last  epidemic  disorder,  in  the 
years  1800  and  1801,  during  which  5,000  Kamtschatdales  perished,  it  is 
very  rare  to  meet  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  persons  in  an  ostrog  ;  in 
many  there  are  scarcely  the  half  of  this  number,  although  there  may  be 
others  where  the  population  is  more  extensive.  Such  an  ostrog  is  under 
the  immediate  command  of  a  tayon,  or  chief,  who  is  chosen  from  among 
the  inhabitants,  and  whose  character  is  similar  to  that  of  a  starost,  or 
elder,  in  the  Russian  villages.  Under  him  he  has  an  officer,  who  bears  the 
title  of  jessaul,  and  who,  properly  speaking,  holds  the  executive  authority 
of  the  ostrog,  as  the  tayon  does  no  more  than  deliver  his  orders  to  him. 
In  the  absence  of  the  tayon  the  jessaul  assumes  his  place,  and  the  eldest 
Kamtschatdale  in  the  ostrog  takes  upon  him  that  of  the  jessaul.  The 
tayon's  power  is  considerable,  since  it  even  extends  to  the  inflicting  of 
corporal  punishments,  though  these  must  never  exceed  twenty  lashes. 
They  generally  select  as  tayon  an  active  Kamtschatdale,  who  has  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  his  good  conduct.  His  duty  consists,  besides  the 
discharge  of  the  internal  regulations  of  his  ostrog,  in  collecting  the  best 
sables,  which  each  Kamtschatdale  pays  annually  as  a  tribute,  and  carry- 
ing them,  sealed  up,  to  the  town,  where  they  are  examined  in  the  presence 
of  certain  magistrates,  and  taxed  by  a  person  authorized  by  the  crown 

35» 


414  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

The  amount  of  the  duties  to  be  paid  by  the  ostrog  in  then  deducted  from 
the  value  of  the  sables,  and  whatever  there  is  exceeding  it  is  paid  in  money 
to  the  tayon,  who  divides  it  proportionally  among  the  inhabitants  of  his 
ostrog  The  annual  taxes  of  the  Kamtschatdales  amount,  exclusive  of 
the  capitation  tax,  to  about  three  roubles,  which,  however,  are  not  paid 
in  money,  but  in  sables,  in  the  manner  above  described. 

In  the  winter  they  are  obliged  to  conduct  travellers  and  couriers  from 
one  ostrog  to  another ;  they  supply  the  dogs  of  those  who  travel  with 
jukula  ;  they  also  lodge  the  travellers  ;  this,  however,  they  are  not  obliged 
to  do.  This  hospitable  people  has,  of  its  own  accord,  engaged  to  lodge 
every  traveller,  and  to  feed  his  dogs  without  demanding  any  remuneration 
In  every  ostrog  there  is  a  supply  of  fish  set  apart  for  this  purpose.  In 
general,  the  governor  and  all  officers  keep  dogs,  so  that  in  this  respect 
they  are  not  burthensome  to  the  Kamtschatdaleo.  These  people,  in  spite 
of  their  extreme  poverty,  are  an  example  of  honesty  :  in  this  respect  it 
is  altogether  impossible  to  exceed  them,  and  it  is  as  rare  to  find  a  cheat 
among  the  Kamtschatdales  as  a  man  of  property.  Travellers,  on  their 
arrival  in  any  ostrog,  usually  give  their  money,  papers,  and  valuables,  and 
■eren  their  stock  of  brandy,  tea,  sugar,  tobacco,  &c.,  into  the  hands  of  the 
tayon,  and  there  is  no  instance  of  any  one  having  been  robbed  to  the 
smallest  extent. 

On  the  9th  of  October  quitted  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  and  on  the  20th 
of  November,  without  any  event  of  consequence,  anchored  at  Macao, 
where,  the  3d  of  December,  they  were  joined  by  the  Neva,  with  a  cargo 
of  furs  from  the  coast  of  America.  On  the  9th  of  February  they  left 
Canton  ;  the  ships  separated  the  15th  of  April,  reaching  St.  Helena  the 
3d  of  May.  August  19th,  1806,  anchored  in  safety  at  Cronstadt,  after  an 
absence  of  three  years  and  twelve  days,  without  the  loss  of  one  man  of 
the  ship's  crew. 


CAPTAIN  FREYCINET.— 1818-1820. 

The  Urania  was  fitted  out  at  Toulon  in  the  early  part  of  1817,  and 
furnished  with  every  article  necessary  for  a  long  voyage  ;  she  received  a 
picked  crew,  and  her  officers  were  distinguished  by  the  extent  of  their 
knowledge. 

Contrary  winds  obliged  them  to  put  into  Gibraltar  on  the  11th  of  Oc- 
tober, and  she  did  not  arrive  at  Santa  Cruz,  in  the  Island  of  TenerifFe, 
before  the  22d  of  the  same  month. 

On  the  6th  day  of  December  Cape  Frio  was  observed,  and  its  geogra- 
phical position  verified.  The  Urania  entered  Rio  de  Janeiro  the  same 
night,  where  she  remained  until  the  29th  of  January. 

The  passage  from  Rio  Janeiro  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  was  marked 
by  a  melancholy  event,  which  deprived  M.  de  Freycinet  of  one  of  his 
ablest  colleagues.  M.  Laborde,  an  officer  of  distinguished  merit,  an  ac- 
curate observer,  a  good  draughtsman,  and  who  joined  to  these  excellent 
qualities  a  character  the  most  sociable,  died  in  the  flower  of  his  age. 

The  Urania  remained  in  Table  Bay  from  the  7th  of  March  till  the  5th 
of  April,  and  from  thence  she  sailed  to  Port  Louis,  in  the  Isle  of  France, 
where  they  arrived  on  the  5th  of  May. 

Port  Louis,  placed  nearly  in  the  same  latitude  as  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and 
at  a  distance  of  more  than  100  degrees  in  longitude,  was  favourably 
situated  for  observations  respecting  the  pendulum.     Those  were  made  in 


M.  DE  PREYCINET.  415 

detail,  as  well  as  experiments,  the  objects  of  which  were  to  enlarge  the 
study  of  magnetism,  and  of  meteorology. 

A  very  considerable  damage,  which  had  torn  oflF  the  copper-sheathing 
of  the  Urania,  did  not  allow  them  to  put  to  sea  until  the  16th  of  July. 
The  corvette  stopped  only  some  days  at  the  Isle  of  Bourbon  to  take  in 
provisions,  and  then  directed  her  course  toward  the  coast  of  New  Hol- 
land, the  northern  extremity  of  which  was  seen  on  the  11th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1818. 

The  Urania  coasted  along  at  a  moderate  distance  ;  and  having  fallen  in 
with  Endracht's  Land,  she  followed  it  until  she  arrived  at  the  entrance 
of  Sea-Dog's  Bay,  from  whence,  after  a  short  stay,  she  sailed  on  the  13th 
of  September,  to  the  anchorage  before  the  peninsula  of  Peron. 

An  observatory  was  at  fu'st  established  on  shore,  and  then  they  were 
employed  in  procuring,  by  means  of  distillation,  water  fit  to  be  drank. 
Two  stills  had  been  shipped  at  Toulon  for  this  purpose.  Numerous  de- 
fects, which  it  may  probably  be  easy  to  remedy  in  other  vessels,  rendered 
almost  null  the  products  of  the  apparatus  placed  on  board  the  corvette  ; 
but  that  which  was  put  up  on  shore  gave,  in  sufficient  abundance,  water 
pleasant  to  drink,  and  in  which  they  could  discover  no  noxious  quality. 

The  Urania  sailed  on  the  26th  of  September ;  the  intention  of  M.  de 
Freycinet  being  to  sail  for  Timor,  in  order  to  ascertain  some  points  respect- 
mg  its  geographical  positions,  of  which  he  had  doubts.  He  consequently 
sailed  near  the  Isles  of  Dorre  and  Bernier,  which  he  coasted  along  at  a 
good  distance  to  the  eastward,  and  in  shallow  water  ;  when,  the  corvette 
having  struck  on  a  sand-bank,  he  was  obliged  to  abandon  the  labour 
begun,  and  to  bear  off  from  the  shore. 

This  event  had  no  disagreeable  consequence  ;  the  time  passed  at  the 
anchorage  on  the  bank  was  employed  in  exploring  its  figure  and  sounding  ; 
and  M.  de  Freycinet  gave  it  the  name  of  the  Bank  of  Urania. 

The  corvette  proceeded  on  her  course,  and  cast  anchor  in  the  Bay  of 
Coupang,  in  the  Island  of  Timor,  after  having  coasted  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Isles  of  Limas  and  Retti,  which  belong  to  that  archipelago. 

The  inhabitants  of  Coupang  were  then  only  busied  in  preparations  for 
the  war  which  the  Dutch  government  was  going  to  make  on  the  Rajah, 
Louis  d'Amanoebang. 

This  circumstance  rendered  it  difficult  to  purchase  the  provisions  neces- 
sary to  victual  the  corvette  ;  but  it  did  not  hmder  the  scientific  operations, 
which  were  carried  on  with  the  greatest  zeal,  in  spite  of  the  excessive 
height  of  the  temperature  :  at  the  observatory  it  stood,  at  times,  at  133 
degrees  of  Fahrenheit,  while  in  the  shade  it  was  from  106  to  111. 

The  Urania  sailed  from  Coupang  on  the  23d  of  October,  1818,  very 
badly  provisioned,  and  with  several  men  attacked  with  dysentery.  Calms 
and  contrary  currents  detained  them  a  long  time  between  Timor  and 
Ombay.  This  was  taken  advantage  of  to  visit  the  village  of  Bitoca :  it 
is  situated  on  the  south  coast  of  the  latter  of  these  islands  ;  has  been, 
till  now,  little  frequented  by  Europeans,  and  it  is  peopled  by  a  warlike 
and  ferocious  race,  some  of  whom  are  anthropophagites. 

Meanwhile,  the  number  of  dysenteric  patients  increased  on  board  the 
corvette,  and  all  the  skill  of  M.  Quoy,  the  surgeon,  was  not  sufficient  to 
overcome  the  influence  of  a  devouring  climate.  The  harbour  of  Coupang 
had  furnished  them  with  but  few  refreshments  ;  it  became  therefore  neces- 
sary to  take  a  new  station  at  Timor,  and  accordingly  the  Urania  anchored 
at  Diely,  the  chief  place  among  the  Portuguese  establishments  on  the 
north  coast  of  that  island. 


416  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

A  most  obliging  reception  was  given  to  the  expedition  by  Don  Josa 
Pinto  Alcoforado  d'Azevedo  e  Souza  ;  and  the  corvette  was  abundantly 
provisioned,  through  his  care,  with  everything  that  she  wanted. 

Their  stay  here  was  only  for  five  days,  after  which  the  Urania  bent  her 
course  still  along  the  coast  of  Timor,  in  order  to  get  through  the  straits 
to  the  eastward  of  Vitters,  by  the  channel  that  separates  that  isle  from 
those  of  Kiffer  and  Roma. 

On  the  29th  of  November  they  were  in  sight  of  Ceram  and  Amboyna, 
and  stretching  into  the  strait  between  the  latter  island  and  Bournu,  they 
bent  their  course  toward  the  Isle  of  Gasse,  which  they  doubled  to  the 
eastward  at  a  small  distance,  during  a  violent  storm.  A  great  number 
of  isles  were  observed,  among  which  the  most  remarkable  are  those  of 
Damoter,  Gilolo,  and  Gu6be. 

In  this  passage  the  Urania  fell  in  with  several  armed  canoes  belonging 
to  the  Kimalaha  of  Gu6b6.  This  prince  came  on  board,  and  passed  an 
entire  day  with  them,  during  which  his  fine  flotilla  towed  astern  of  the 
corvette.  It  was  to  the  Isle  Gu6be  that  M.  de  Pavre  was  sent  formerly 
by  M.  de  Coetiva,  to  take  drawings  of  the  nutmeg  trees,  which  have  since 
multiplied  so  much  in  the  Indian  and  American  colonies.  The  Gu6beans 
recollected  that  circumstance  very  well,  of  which  they  were  themselves 
the  first  to  speak  ;  and  M.  de  Freycinet  attributes  to  their  former  relations 
with  the  French  the  very  particular  amity  which  they  testified  toward  him. 

The  Urania,  continuing  her  track,  passed,  on  the  12th  of  December, 
the  strait  which  separates  the  Isle  of  Mondox  from  Gueb6,  and  stretched 
to  the  eastward  ;  she  ran  some  risk  in  the  strait  formed  by  the  Isles  of 
Rouib  and  of  Balabalak,  and  by  the  Wyag  Islands,  where,  during  a  calm, 
violent  currents  set  upon  shallows  :  but  she  was  fortunately  able  to  keep 
her  anchorage,  and  to  wait  for  such  winds  as  permitted  her  to  keep  her 
way  until  she  had  got  clear  of  that  perilous  situation. 

She  cast  anchor,  on  the  16th  of  December,  at  the  Isle  of  Rawak,  after 
having  at  a  short  distance  coasted  along  the  northern  side  of  Waigion, 

An  observatory  was  established  on  shore,  and  its  position,  in  latitude 
only  H  minutes  south,  was  the  most  favourable  for  experiments  with  the 
pendulum  which  they  could  get  under  the  equator.  The  period  of  this 
stay  was  employed  in  researches  respecting  geography  and  natural  history. 

Two  or  three  days  before  they  sailed,  they  heard  on  a  sudden  the 
martial  music  of  tom-toms,  kettle-drums,  &c.  Some  moments  after  there 
appeared,  at  the  large  point  of  the  island,  the  fleet  of  the  Kimalaha  of 
Gueb6,  who,  faithful  to  his  promise,  had  come  to  pay  the  visit  he  had 
before  announced.  This  little  squadron  presented  a  spectacle  at  once 
imposing  and  whimsical.  The  Guebean  prince  was  accompanied  by  his 
brothers  and  sons,  to  the  number  of  eight  ;  all,  like  himself,  of  good  mien, 
and  remarkable  for  their  intelligence.  They  remained  on  board  until  the 
moment  of  the  corvette's  departure  ;  they  gave,  as  presents  to  M.  de 
Freyoinet,  various  curiosities  of  their  country,  and  among  others,  hats 
made  of  straw  interwoven  with  talc,  worked  with  admirable  art. 

Having  sailed  from  Rawak  on  the  5th  of  January,  1819,  the  Urania 
stretched  toward  the  Ayon  Isles,  which  they  saw  on  the  6th  and  8th  of 
the  same  month. 

The  dysentery  continued  still  to  torment  the  crew  ;  it  was  long  before 
It  was  joined  to  fevers,  one  of  the  first  victims  of  which  was  M.  Labiche, 
the  second  lieutenant,  an  officer  of  great  merit  and  of  the  most  amiable 
disposition.  This  was  the  second  loss  of  the  kind  during  the  voyage,  and 
It  was  keenly  felt. 


M.  DE  FREYCINET.  417 

After  having  visited  several  of  the  Caroline  Isles,  which  are  not  pointed 
out  on  the  maps,  and  having  received  throughout  the  most  friendly  recep- 
tion from  the  islanders,  M.  de  Freycinet  arrived,  on  the  17th  of  May,  in 
sight  of  the  Isle  of  Guam,  and  cast  anchor  on  the  night  of  the  same  day 
in  the  roadstead  of  Humata.  This  delay,  and  that  which  the  corvette 
made  at  Port  San  Louis,  in  the  same  island,  restored  health  to  the  crew ; 
thanks  to  the  generous  eagerness  with  which  the  governor,  Don  Jose  de 
Medinillo  y  Pineda,  anticipated  all  the  wants  of  the  expedition,  by  pro- 
curing them  refreshments  and  comforts  of  all  kinds. 

M.  de  Freycinet  appears  to  have  collected,  respecting  the  people  of  the 
Marianne  Islands,  information  more. extensive  than  that  with  which  pre- 
ceding voyagers  have  enriched  their  accounts.  He  gives  various  details 
respecting  their  manners,  language,  and  laws,  as  well  as  that  singular 
government  of  which  much  has  been  said,  and  in  which  the  women  act 
an  important  part. 

Two  months  were  employed  in  making  these  researches  ;  and  at  the 
same  time  they  were  occupied  with  those  observations  and  experiments 
which  formed  the  principal  object  of  the  expedition.  M.  de  Medinillo 
had,  during  all  this  time,  the  kindness  to  provide  the  corvette  abundantly 
with  fresh  provisions,  to  which  he  added  provisions  for  the  voyage,  and 
for  which  he  afterward  refused  to  accept  any  reimbursement. 

The  course  of  the  Urania,  from  Guam  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  presents 
nothing  remarkable.  On  the  5th  of  August,  1819,  she  made  the  Island 
of  Owyhee,  and  anchored  in  the  Bay  of  Harahona  in  three  days  after. 

Tamahama,  king  of  the  Sandwich  Isles,  was  dead  ;  his  palace  had  been 
reduced  to  ashes,  and  almost  all  the  hogs  on  the  island  had  been  slaugh- 
tered on  account  of  his  obsequies,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  country, 
which  was  a  real  disappointment  in  the  revictualling  the  corvette. 

Uno  Rio,  the  eldest  son  and  successor  of  Tamahama,  enjoyed  at  that 
time  but  a  badly-established  authortv.  The  chiefs,  compelled  to  submit 
to  the  arms  of  his  father,  raising  extraordinary  pretensions,  caused  him 
to  dread  an  approachmg  war.  He  came  with  his  wives  and  a  numerous 
suite  on  board  the  Urania,  on  the  occasion  of  the  baptism  of  one  of  th» 
principal  chiefs  of  the  island.  That  ceremony  was  performed  with  much 
pomp  by  the  Abb6  Quelen,  chaplain  of  the  vessel. 

The  Sandwich  Islands  were,  like  the  Marianne,  the  object  of  t>h0 
assiduous  researches  of  M.  de  Freycinet  and  of  the  officers  under  his 
command.  Numerous  observations  were  made  in  search  of  the  magnetic 
equator  and  its  inflexions,  in  the  Great  Ocean. 

On  the  30th  of  August  the  Urania  sailed  from  Port  Jackson,  passing 
through  the  islands  of  the  Austral  Polynesia.  By  taking  this  track,  the 
position  of  the  dangerous  Isle  of  Byron  was  rectified,  as  well  as  that  of 
the  Island  of  Pyletant,  the  most  southerly  of  the  Friendly  Islands,  and 
also  that  of  Howe  Island.  A  new  island,  surrounded  by  dangerous  reefs, 
was  discovered  to  the  east  of  Tonga,  which  M.  de  Freycinet  named 
Rose  Island. 

The  Urania  anchored  in  Port  Jackson  on  the  18th  of  November,  1819  ; 
she  remained  there  till  the  25th  of  December,  and  this  interval  was  em- 
ployed, as  at  all  the  preceding  stoppages,  in  scientific  inquiries.  M.  de 
Freycinet  speaks  in  this  respect  with  gratitude  for  the  assistance  afforded 
to  him  by  General  Macquarie,  the  goTernor  of  the  colony. 

On  quitting  Port  Jackson,  the  course  of  the  corvette  was  shaped  to 
pass  between  Van  Dieman's  Land  and  New  Zealand.  On  the  7th  of 
January,  18a0,  the  southern  extremity  of  the  latter  islands  was  doubled 


418  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 

in  sight  of  Campbell's  Island.  From  that  moment  until  nearing  the 
coast  of  Terra  del  Fuego  the  winds  were  constantly  favourable.  The 
Urania  reached  59  degrees  of  south  latitude,  and  she  found  floating  ice 
in  the  54th  degree. 

On  the  5th  of  February  the  coast  of  Terra  del  Fuego  was  seen  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Cape  Desolation ;  the  season  was  as  frightful  as  the 
adjoining  shores.  In  the  impossibihty  of  reaching  Christmas  Harbour, 
it  became  necessary  to  make  for  the  Bay  of  Good  Success,  in  the  Straits 
of  Le  Maire  ;  but  scarcely  had  the  anchor  dropped,  when  a  furious  storm 
caused  the  ship  to  drive.  There  was  not  a  moment  to  be  lost  in  cutting 
the  cable  and  setting  sail  with  all  speed,  to  get  out  of  the  bay,  and  she 
skirted  at  a  very  short  distance  the  rocks  and  breakers  which  lie  upon  its 
north  point. 

This  tempest  lasted  two  days,  and  drove  the  vessel  considerably  to  the 
northward,  which  determined  M.  de  Freycinet  to  bear  up  for  the  Falkland 
Islands,  in  sight  of  which  they  arrived  on  the  14th  of  February,  accord- 
ing to  their  reckoning,  but  the  13th  according  to  European  time,  they 
having  gained  a  day  in  circumnavigating  the  globe. 

The  Urania  was  lost  in  consequence  of  striking  on  a  sunken  rock  at 
the  entrance  of  French  Bay,  in  the  Falkland  Islands,  when  they  were 
taken  off  by  an  American  whaler,  and  taken  first  to  Rio  Janeiro  and  after- 
ward to  Havre  de  Grace,  where  they  arrived  with  most  of  the  collections 
made  during  the  voyage,  on  the  13th  of  November,  1820. 


THE  END. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


MARll  J968-V 

APP      rj  ♦rn  _Q  1 

^M                                      1 

MPn      J  00    O  ' 

ITI                                                    1 

LD  2lA-45m-9,'67 
(H50678l0)476B 


General  Libf 
University  of  C- 
Berkeley 


